Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring launched a sharp attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday, accusing it of manipulating the recent rural local body elections through abuse of power and intimidation. He alleged that the AAP's claimed victory in the zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls was largely manufactured and did not reflect a genuine electoral mandate.
Allegations of Electoral Manipulation in Zila Parishad Seats
Warring contested the AAP's announcement of winning 220 out of 347 Zila Parishad seats. He asserted that the party secured only 136 seats through the actual electoral process, and even that number was achieved via manipulation of state machinery. The Congress leader provided a breakdown of the remaining 84 seats claimed by the AAP.
He stated that on 18 seats, there was a boycott, while 11 were won unopposed. In a more serious charge, he claimed that nomination papers were torn in five constituencies, and in 32 others, papers were arbitrarily rejected by officials, preventing opposition candidates from contesting.
According to Warring's figures, following the Congress's 62 seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won 46 Zila Parishad seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got seven, and other independents or parties secured 11 seats.
Panchayat Samiti Polls Also Marred by Irregularities: Congress
The allegations extended to the panchayat samiti elections. Warring dismissed the AAP's claim of winning 1,531 panchayat samiti seats, stating the real number won through the ballot was only 838. He alleged the rest were captured through "abuse and intimidation."
The Ludhiana MP provided a detailed account of the alleged malpractices. He said there was a boycott in 149 panchayat samiti seats, and a staggering 212 seats were won unopposed because candidates were blocked from filing nominations. Furthermore, he claimed papers were rejected in 328 seats, and at 74 locations, results were forcibly declared in favour of the ruling party.
Warring Mocks Rivals, Claims Congress Performance on Par with AAP
Amrinder Singh Raja Warring used the occasion to ridicule the Shiromani Akali Dal's claims of a revival and finishing ahead of the Congress. "There cannot be a greater lie than that," he stated. Referring to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal's comment about a better "strike rate," Warring sarcastically asked if a party contesting just 10 seats and winning three should be considered ahead of everyone else.
He concluded by claiming that the actual performance difference between the AAP and the Congress was minimal, while the SAD and BJP were far behind. This statement directly challenges the official narrative of an emphatic AAP victory, with Congress in second place, SAD third, and BJP fourth in the rural polls.
The accusations set the stage for a heated political confrontation in Punjab, with the principal opposition party challenging the legitimacy of the ruling party's sweep in the recent grassroots-level elections.
