Bathinda: Punjab's opposition parties have formed a rare united front to accuse the Aam Aadmi Party government of political intimidation and administrative manipulation during local election filings in the state.
Joint protests and clashes
The Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held joint protests outside state government offices on Monday after Congress and AAP activists clashed at the Malout subdivisional magistrate's office during the official scrutiny of candidate nomination papers. Congress workers alleged that AAP members had forced election officials to reject the candidacies of several opposition politicians, including Muktsar Congress district president Sukhdeep Singh.
Witnesses and opposition officials, including former SAD lawmaker Harpreet Singh, reported that the turbans of several Congress members had been tossed in the melee. Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who arrived on the scene, accused AAP of leveraging state machinery to disqualify opponents. Warring claimed that the opposition's coordinated effort had blocked the attempted rejections.
Government response
State social security minister Baljit Kaur, who represents the Malout constituency for AAP, denied all allegations of political interference. She maintained that the local administration had acted independently and discarded no opposition nomination paper.
Spread of unrest
The political unrest spread to neighbouring Barnala, where Congress legislator Kuldeep Singh Dhillon and SAD state vice-president Sanjeev Shorey alleged widespread discrepancies in municipal voter lists, claiming local authorities had altered voter wards without authorisation.
