Clean Sweep! AAP Dominates Punjab Civic Polls, Captures Nearly Half of All Wards

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delivered a commanding performance in the Punjab civic body elections on Friday, winning 958 of the total 1,977 wards to claim nearly half of all municipal seats across the state, consolidating its grip on urban Punjab ahead of what promises to be a fiercely contested 2027 state assembly election .

The Congress finished second with 397 wards , while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secured 191 wards and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed 172 . Independent candidates put up a notable showing, winning 251 wards , while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) claimed seven. Polling for 102 municipal bodies covering eight municipal corporations, 75 municipal councils and 19 nagar panchayats had been held on May 26 using ballot papers, recording a voter turnout of 63.94 per cent . Of the 1,977 wards in contention, 80 candidates were elected unopposed before counting began.

In the municipal corporation contests, AAP's dominance was especially pronounced. The ruling party registered decisive victories in Moga, Barnala, Bathinda and Batala , winning 30, 36, 31 and 30 wards respectively out of 50 in each corporation, and emerged as the single largest party in Mohali with 26 wards. The BJP held its ground in Abohar and Pathankot , while Congress secured a dominant position in Kapurthala by winning 31 wards, one of the few bright spots for the opposition in an otherwise difficult night.

The results came with sharp political messaging from the victors. Arvind Kejriwal called the mandate "historic" and "spectacular," saying the people had applauded the work of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's government . He trained his fire on the BJP, calling it the " ED party " and claiming that 1,142 BJP candidates had forfeited their security deposits. Manish Sisodia echoed the sentiment, saying "ED politics will not work in Punjab." Bhagwant Mann said the people had rejected the opposition's "politics of hatred" and given a clear stamp of approval to his government's development agenda.

The results carried symbolic weight in several constituencies. In Dhuri , Mann's home turf, AAP swept 19 of 21 wards . In Gidderbaha , a stronghold of Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring , AAP won 17 of 19 wards , a significant setback for the Congress state president. Congress performed better in Chamkaur Sahib , winning seven of 13 wards in the segment associated with former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi . In Majitha , AAP and SAD split the council, with the Akali party's showing offering some relief to the regional outfit.

The opposition was quick to accuse the AAP government of misusing official machinery and abusing power during the elections. For the BJP, which had announced it would contest the 2027 assembly polls on its own and hoped for a breakthrough in urban centres, the results were a sobering reminder of the challenges ahead. For SAD , the outcome offered a measure of comfort as the party appeared to retain its urban support base despite years of decline.

These civic polls, widely seen as a semi-final before the 2027 assembly election , have sent an early and unambiguous signal: AAP remains the dominant political force in Punjab.