Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading on 43 seats in Patiala in the municipal elections on Saturday, a sign that the Aman Arora-led party in the state has a strong foothold in the city, amid reports of violence.
Results of elections in five municipal corporations, 44 municipal councils, and several nagar panchayats across Punjab have been reported by district public relations offices (DPRO) in the state.
Out of all the eligible voters in Patiala district, only 36% of them actually cast their votes during the election, according to data shared with the media by the DPRO in the city.
In Patiala, results of 43 out of 53 wards have been declared. The city has a total of 60 wards but polls in seven wards have been deferred by the authorities, due to allegations of tampering with nomination papers and police inaction during the nomination process.
Polls have been delayed in ward numbers 1, 32, 33, 36, 41, 48 and 50.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Preneet Kaur had expressed a concern over the law and order situation in Patiala on Wednesday.
BJP is trailing AAP with a lead in four wards.
Congress is leading on three wards and Shiromani Akali Dal, which has been battling with a leadership-crisis in the state, is also leading on three wards.
Rival parties could not pose a big threat to AAP in the elections after the party has already won three constituencies including Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, and Chabbewal in the bypolls last month which were considered Congress’s stronghold.
The bastion of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh looks to shift its loyalty to AAP, as Patiala's royal scion resigned from the head of the state in September 2021 and eventually migrated to BJP, which impacted his popularity, as the BJP has also been struggling to form a government in the state.