The AAP accused the Congress of booth-capturing in Samana, Rajpura, Dhuri, Abohar and Bhikhiwind, a cost the ruling social gathering denied
On Sunday, voting for eight municipal firms, and 109 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab was marred by violence purportedly between the employees of the ruling Congress and Opposition. In the meantime, over 71.39 p.c voting was recorded within the polls.
In response to a spokesperson of the Punjab State Election Fee, the very best turnout of 82.99 p.c was recorded in Mansa district whereas the bottom was in SAS Nagar at 60.08 p.c.
In response to officers, seven individuals have been injured in Rupnagar after staff of the ruling Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal clashed following a heated argument in ward primary within the metropolis.
Skirmishes and scuffles have been additionally reported from Batala, Rajpura, Tarn Taran, Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Samana, Rupnagar, Nabha, Nangal, Mohali and Ferozepur.
In Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi, an Akali employee was injured in a conflict with Congress supporters, PTI reported. The SAD staff reportedly alleged that Congress supporters tried to regulate the polling sales space and that the social gathering’s members fired within the air.
The incident befell when the voting time was about to be over. Supporters of each events additionally pelted stones at one another.
In Batala, a BJP chief sustained accidents on the top after a scuffle with some Congress staff, the PTI report added.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised the Congress-led authorities for the violence.
Failed on all fronts, Congress social gathering leaders knew they might lose, in order that they resorted to rigging & sales space capturing and even violence. What can we anticipate from a govt that unleased goondaism within the state? Disgrace on the State Election Fee for its absolute incompetency!
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) February 14, 2021
Akali chief Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that the Congress “goons” not solely “captured” cubicles but in addition “attacked” Opposition candidates.
Moreover, SAD chief Bikram Singh Majithia accused the ruling Congress of misusing the federal government equipment to win the polls.
Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma even staged a sit-in in Pathankot on Sunday night in protest in opposition to the alleged “misuse” of presidency equipment. The saffron social gathering alleged that their polling brokers have been “forcibly eliminated” from some polling cubicles.
The Aam Aadmi Get together (AAP) too accused the Congress staff of indulging in sales space capturing in Samana, Rajpura, Dhuri, Abohar and Bhikhiwind, a cost denied by the ruling social gathering.
Chief of Opposition within the Punjab Meeting Harpal Singh Cheema claimed that an AAP volunteer was allegedly shot at in Patti by some Congress activists. Nevertheless, police rejected the cost.
#Punjabmunicipalbodypolls2021: Lengthy queue of voters at Authorities Senior Secondary Faculty, Phabhat village in Mohali
Comply with stay updates right here: https://t.co/TkmzUhDtXk pic.twitter.com/N7CW6T2Xbt— TOIChandigarh (@TOIChandigarh) February 14, 2021
A Congress candidate additionally reportedly sustained accidents on Saturday night time.
Candidate Yadwinder Singh Yadu, who was contesting a seat within the Muktsar municipal council, was injured in a conflict on the outskirts of Muktsar city on Saturday night time, as per News18.
News18 reported that Sudhir Sharma, a supporter of Yadu, was additionally injured within the incident.
Congress chief and ex-Muktsar MLA Karan Kaur Brar blamed members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for the violence, the report added.
In the meantime, a tense scenario prevailed in Batala after Congress and BJP staff clashed, News18 reported, including that the scenario was introduced below management by the police. The Tribune reported that tight safety preparations are in place.
News18 additionally reported that SAD candidate Parveen Kumar Pinna, who’s contesting the Moga municipal company election, was “assaulted by unidentified individuals” exterior the Arya Faculty polling sales space within the space.
AAP’s Cheema additionally demanded Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s resignation over the incidents of violence on Sunday.
The following ballot violence present that @capt_amarinder is a killer of democracy. I demand his quick resignation. As a substitute of defending the individuals of Punjab he’s selling his goons and suppressing the individuals’s voices.@ArvindKejriwal@ZeePunjabHH@thetribunechd@htTweets
— Adv Harpal Singh Cheema (@HarpalCheemaMLA) February 14, 2021
Nevertheless, the Punjab Congress hit again on the Opposition events and mentioned they have been making “baseless accusations”.
Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar mentioned, “They (Opposition) shouldn’t have any argument in opposition to the Congress Get together, which is preventing elections purely on the event work finished within the state.”
Whereas the SAD and the AAP accused the Congress of misusing the federal government equipment, the BJP had charged the ruling social gathering of “unleashing hooliganism below the guise of the farmers’ protest”.
A complete of 9,222 candidates have been within the fray for two,302 wards of the Abohar, Bathinda Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Moga municipal firms, along with the municipal councils and nagar panchayats
EVM snags have been additionally reported in just a few locations like Ludhiana and Mohali, studies mentioned. Round 7,000 EVMs have been deployed for voting, PTI reported.
Outstanding amongst those that forged their votes until midday included Punjab minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, Akali chief Majithia, AAP legislator Aman Arora, and Punjab BJP chief Punjab Ashwani Sharma.
आइए पंजाब के उज्जवल भविष्य के लिये आपने मत का उपयोग करे।
पहले मतदान फिर जलपान।@BJP4Punjab #PunjabWithBJP pic.twitter.com/Q2UXh1yws1— Ashwani Sharma (@AshwaniSBJP) February 14, 2021
The State Election Fee (SEC) had arrange 4,102 polling stations. Of those, 1,708 have been declared as delicate and 861 as hyper delicate.
Out of the whole candidates, 2,832 contested as Independents, 2,037 are of the ruling Congress and 1,569 of the Akali Dal. The variety of candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Get together, the Aam Aadmi Get together and the BSP are 1,003, 1,606 and 160 respectively.
Former allies, the SAD and the BJP fought the municipals elections individually. The SAD had walked out of the Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA) to registers its opposition to the farm legal guidelines final yr.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and different social gathering leaders campaigned for his or her social gathering candidates.
As many as 19,000 police personnel have been deputed to conduct free and honest elections, the SEC mentioned. Voters, together with aged residents, started lining up on the polling cubicles early on Sunday morning.
Voters have been additionally screened by thermal scanners at polling cubicles within the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There have been 20,49,777 male, 18,65,354 feminine and 149 transgender voters, totalling 39,15,280 registered voters within the state for the civic physique elections, in line with the SEC knowledge.
The counting of votes will happen on 17 February.
With inputs from PTI
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