Punjab: Congress sweeps violence-marred panchayat polls

The ruling Congress has swept the panchayat elections in Punjab, according to early reports. "We congratulate the newly elected Panchayat Members & Sarpanch’s on their victory & wish them a successful term! We urge the Panchayat representatives to initiate transformative changes in villages & make a positive difference in society during their terms. #PunjabPanchayatPolls," the Punjab Congress tweeted Sunday night.

Approximately 80 per cent voting was reported in the Punjab panchayats elections on Sunday that also saw incidents of violence. At some places in Punjab, candidates and their supporters levelled allegations of booth capturing by some miscreants.

The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) blamed the Congress, alleging a "complete hijacking" of the election by the ruling party.

"Congress party is now afraid to face people. They know they have done nothing. That's why party indulged in large scale violence and rigging in Panchayat elections today. Black day for democracy. Elections hijacked," SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said in a tweet.

Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that Congress workers incited violence during the polling and indulged in booth-capturing at some places, but the administration remained a mute spectator.

He alleged a "complete hijacking" of the polls by the Congress and said "this amounted to murder of democracy".

The main opposition party in the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also alleged that booth capturing did happen at some places.

Reacting to the alleged incidents of violence and booth-capturing, Leader of Opposition and senior AAP leader Harpal Cheema said it was a "black day" for democracy.

As the counting of votes began in the evening, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh congratulated the winning candidates.

"Congratulations to the winners of #PunjabPanchayatPolls. A strong assertion of democracy at the grassroots. I call upon the newly elected Sarpanches and Panchayat members to work out a long-term vision to usher in positive change in their villages," he said in a tweet.

The polls were held to elect as many as 13,276 "sarpanch" (village headman) and 83,831 "panch" (village council members) for 13,276 villages, officials said.

They added that before the polls, 4,363 "sarpanch" and 46,754 "panch" were already declared elected unopposed.

Violent polling

On Sunday, an elderly voter was killed in Ferozepur district after being hit by the vehicle of some unidentified miscreants during their attempt to capture a booth. They also set the papers kept inside a ballot box on fire, they said.

About 12-15 unidentified people reached a polling booth at the government primary school in Lakhmir ke Uthar village of Ferozepur's Mamdot block, they said.

They arrived in an SUV bearing a Maharashtra registration number and allegedly snatched the ballot box from the polling staff. They burnt the ballot papers and when they were leaving, Mohinder Singh, 60, got hit by their vehicle, the police said.

They left the vehicle behind and fled from the spot. The injured man was rushed to Mamdot civil hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, they said.

Senior police and police administration officials from the administration and the police including Deputy Commissioner Gurmit Singh Multani, reached the spot and took stock of the situation.

At Dina Sahib of Moga district's Nihal Singh Wala sub-division, some unidentified miscreants fired some shots outside a polling booth but no one was injured, the police said.

In other areas of the district, minor incidents of scuffle between some villagers were reported, they said.

(With PTI inputs)