Congress wins local bodies hands down

KHANNA/LUDHIANA: The Congress swept Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections, the results of which were announced on Saturday. The party won 22 of 25 Zila Parishad seats and was ahead in two others till 10pm. Of the 236 Panchayat Samiti seats, it won 182. Seven were won unopposed.
The election authorities said of 25 Zila Parishad seats, 22 went in Congress bag.Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party did not win a single seat. Of the remaining seats, one was won unopposed and counting was on for two others till the filing of the report.
Till 9pm, the maximum margin was recorded in Pinjal, where Congress’ Amandeep Kaur defeated SAD’s Harpreet Kaur with 7,042 votes. In Galib Kalan, Congress’ Gurmail Kaur Sivia trounced SAD’s Kulwinder Kaur with 7,014 votes.
In Kheernian, Congress candidate Karam Singh beat Gurcharan Singh of SAD with 861 votes, which was one of the thinnest margins.
Of 236 seats of Panchayat Samiti, Congress defeated SAD in more than two-thirds of the seats. The SAD won 29 seats. AAP, Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) and SAD (Amritsar) drew a naught. The Independent candidates won seven seats. Counting was on for 11 seats in Ludhiana-1 till the filing of the report.
Of the Panchayat Samiti seats in 13 zones, Congress won all seats in Dehlon (14) and Raikot (12). It won maximum seats in Doraha (15 of 16), Jagraon (19 of 25), Khanna (12 of 15), Ludhiana-1 (11 of 25), Ludhiana-2 (21 of 25), Machhiwara (12 of 15), Malaud (13 of 15), Pakhowal (12 of 16), Sidhwan Bet (13 of 15), Sudhar (20 of 22) and Samrala (8 of 14).
In Samrala zone, SAD sprung a surprise as it won six of 14 seats. It won four seats in Pakhowal, three each in Khanna, Ludhiana-1, Ludhiana-2 and Machhiwara blocks, two each in Sidhwan Bet and Jagraon blocks. It won one seat each in Doraha, Malaud and Sudhar blocks.
Seven of the Panchayat Samiti seats have been won unopposed. The counting for the remaining 11 seats in Ludhiana-1 was on till the filing of the report.