In the home district of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday won the election to the post of Chairperson of the Muktsar Zila Parishad despite being outnumbered by the SAD in the elected house.
The SAD has seven members in the 13-member Zila Parishad, while the AAP has five and the Congress one. However, the AAP’s candidate Gurwinder Kaur from the Fakkarsar zone emerged victorious. The lone Congress member abstained from voting, while two Panchayat Samiti chairpersons each from the SAD and the AAP also participated in the election process, as they too were entitled to vote.
AAP leaders claimed that one vote cast by SAD member was declared invalid, while another SAD member cross-voted in favour of the AAP candidate, paving the way for the party’s victory.
The result triggered sharp reactions from the SAD. The party’s former Muktsar MLA Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi and senior SAD leader Manjinder Singh Bittu termed the election outcome a “murder of democracy” and alleged that the district administration had played a partisan role during the election process.
The Akali leaders said they would challenge the election in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that the democratic process had been compromised.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Dr Baljit Kaur, who is MLA from Malout, congratulated the newly elected Chairperson Gurwinder Kaur and described the victory as a reflection of the growing public support for the AAP.
Muktsar SDM Gurkiran Deep Singh said the election was held in a fair manner, but everyone had the right to protest. “One vote was declared invalid and was shown to members of both parties, while another member cross-voted,” he said.
The SAD’s Kulwinder Kaur was elected vice-chairperson unanimously.
