Twenty-two Congress workers, including Gurmeet Nagpal, husband of party candidate Kiran Bala Nagpal, were detained by the Khanna police on Tuesday after they allegedly attempted to block the Khanna-Malerkotla road while protesting outside the Municipal Council election counting centre.
The protest erupted after Congress workers alleged irregularities in the counting process for Ward 9 and claimed that votes had been counted three times before the final results were declared. Raising slogans outside the counting centre, the party workers demanded an explanation from the election authorities and staged a demonstration over the delay in announcing the results.
As the protest intensified, a group of Congress workers moved towards the Khanna-Malerkotla road and allegedly attempted to block traffic. Police personnel deployed at the spot intervened and detained 22 protesters under preventive measures to maintain law and order.
The controversy centered around Ward 9, where Congress candidate Kiran Bala Nagpal eventually emerged victorious. She secured 794 votes and defeated Independent candidate Mandeep Kaur, who polled 750 votes. Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Geetanjali Naran secured 615 votes and finished third. Kiran Bala won by a margin of 44 votes.
Just before the announcement of results, the Congress workers were protesting over the delay in the declaration of the results. They alleged that repeated counting had created confusion among candidates and supporters.
However, Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia refuted the allegations and clarified that no recounting had taken place.
“There were several polling booths in Ward 9, due to which the counting process took more time. Some candidates assumed that recounting was being conducted but counting was done only once. The candidate was subsequently declared the winner. Twenty-two persons were detained after they tried to block the Khanna-Malerkotla road. Action was taken under preventive measures,” she said.
Police officials said the situation remained under control and traffic movement was restored shortly after the protesters were removed from the road. Security around the counting centre was also tightened to prevent any untoward incident.
The incident added to the tense atmosphere at the centre, where supporters of different candidates had gathered in a large number, awaiting the election results.
