Chandigarh: Counting of votes for the Block Samiti and Zilla Parishad elections began across Punjab on Wednesday. Winners will be decided for 347 Zilla Parishad seats and 2,838 Block Samiti seats.
No results had been declared for any Zilla Parishad seat till the latest updates. In the Block Samiti, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had won 12 seats, Shiromani Akali Dal two, Congress two and Independents one seat.
An unusual situation was reported from the Daulatpur zone of the Moga Block Samiti, where Akali Dal (Badal) candidate Gurdarshan Singh initially won by nine votes. Following a demand for recounting by the AAP candidate, the margin widened to 34 votes in favour of the Akali Dal.
In Ferozepur, Kuljit Kaur Sekhon, wife of former gangster Gurpreet Sekhon, was leading in the Ferozeshah Zone Zilla Parishad election. Gurpreet Sekhon had come into focus during the campaign after his arrest on allegations of threatening voters. He was later released following orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Tension was reported at several counting centres. In Mullanpur Dakha in Ludhiana, leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress alleged they were not being allowed inside the counting centre set up at GTV College. Similar scenes were witnessed on Nabha Road in Patiala. Police reached the spots and brought the situation under control.
In Ludhiana’s Jagirpur constituency, Congress candidate Basso Rani was declared defeated by three votes. He alleged that he and his agents were not allowed inside the counting centre and accused AAP workers of fraud, demanding a recount.
Congress leaders also created a ruckus at the Ghanaur counting centre in Patiala, alleging that AAP MLA Gurlal Ghanaur was present inside. Police said he was sitting in the principal’s office and clarified that only authorised agents were allowed inside. The MLA said he was outside and termed the allegations false.
In Derabassi in Mohali, Akali Dal leaders raised slogans alleging manipulation of votes in the Pargpur zone. Akali leader NK Sharma said around 80 votes from Bohra and Bohri villages had double stamps and most of the rejected votes belonged to his party.
Even before polling, 196 candidates were elected unopposed. Of these, 15 were Zilla Parishad candidates, including 12 from Tarn Taran and three from Amritsar.
As many as 181 Block Samiti candidates were elected unopposed, including 98 in Tarn Taran, 63 in Amritsar, 17 in Hoshiarpur, two in Malerkotla and one in SBS Nagar. All unopposed Block Samiti candidates were associated with the Aam Aadmi Party.
