Congress sweeps Punjab municipal polls; wins 267 wards

Chandigarh, Dec 18 : Punjab's ruling Congress party has emerged victorious in 20 out of 29 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, state election commission (SEC) official said on Monday.

Of the total 414 wards, the Congress won in 267 wards, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won in 37, BJP in 15 (alliance partner of SAD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in just one ward and independents in 94 wards.

Voting for the municipal elections was held on Sunday. The counting of votes started later in the evening.

The Congress party won all three Municipal Corporations (MC) of the state - Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, where polling was held on Sunday.

Polling was not held for the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation as electoral rolls were not updated.

The Congress clinched 64 seats out of 85 wards in Amritsar MC, whereas the SAD won seven, BJP six and eight seats were won by independent candidates.

In Patiala MC, the Congress won 59 out of 60 wards. The SEC ordered a re-poll in one polling booth of a ward.

In Jalandhar MC, the Congress won 66 wards out of 80. The SAD won four wards while the BJP won eight seats. Two seats were won by the independent candidates.