Chandigarh: Punjab’s civic poll results began pouring in on Friday with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) taking an early lead in the counting of votes for municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the state.
According to early trends and results declared so far, AAP has won 180 seats. The Congress has secured 58 seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) 54, Independents 63 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seven seats.
In Barnala, AAP has emerged dominant in the early rounds, winning 15 of the 17 seats declared so far. The election is significant as it is the first municipal corporation poll in Barnala, where councillors are being elected for 50 wards for the first time.
The counting process is being conducted at 115 counting centres set up across 23 districts under multi-layer security arrangements. Around 80 candidates had already been elected unopposed before polling.
A total of 7,554 candidates are in the fray, including 1,613 candidates for eight municipal corporations, 5,141 for 75 municipal councils and 800 for 19 nagar panchayats. Results will decide the composition of 1,897 wards across the state.
Polling for the urban local bodies was held on May 26, with over 22.38 lakh voters exercising their franchise. The voter turnout was recorded at around 64%.
The civic elections are being closely watched as a key indicator of the political mood in urban Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
