Hung House in Ludhiana, AAP emerges single-largest party

AAP secures victory in 41 wards, seven short of majority mark of 48; Cong wins 30 seats, BJP gets 19, SAD 2

- Tarsem Singh Deogan & Sukhpreet Singh

LUDHIANA: In the municipal corporation (MC) elections, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured the highest number of seats, winning 41 wards but failed to achieve the majority mark of 48, needed to elect mayor. The Congress, which dominated the 2018 elections, was reduced to 30 seats, while the BJP claimed 19. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) managed only two seats, and three Independents also emerged victorious.

In contrast, the 2018 elections had seen Congress sweep 62 of the 95 wards, with SAD winning 11, BJP securing 10, Lok Insaaf Party taking 7, AAP capturing just 1 and four independents claiming victory.

The election results dealt a significant blow to AAP's legislators, with the wives of two sitting MLAs suffering defeats. Sukhchain Kaur Bassi, wife of MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, lost in Ward Number 61 to Congress candidate Parminder Kaur Indi. Similarly, Meenu Parashar, wife of MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi, lost in Ward Number 77, where BJP candidate Poonam Ratra emerged victorious. Congress also faced a setback as Mamta Ashu, wife of former cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, lost from Ward number 60.

However, AAP witnessed some wins within prominent families, as Rakesh Parashar, brother of MLA Ashok Parashar, won in Ward Number 90 and Aman Bagga, son of MLA Madan Lal Bagga, secured Ward Number 94.