B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Murder of democracy, says Capt
Patiala, June 10
Condemning “widespread booth capturing” in all municipal wards across Patiala, PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh said: “It is the murder of democracy by the ruling alliance”.

Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh visits a polling station at Sewak Jatha School in Patiala after an alleged clash between workers of the SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

SAD-BJP wins 12 seats in Talwandi Sabo, Cong one
Bathinda, June 10
The SAD-BJP alliance has won 12 seats in Talwandi Sabo Nagar Panchayat elections. Of the 13 seats for which voted were polled, the Congress managed to win only one from the ward number 3.

Baghapurana emerges as SAD-BJP stronghold
Moga, June 10
The SAD-BJP alliance today won 14 of the total 15 seats of the Baghapurana Municipal Council elections. The SAD won 12 seats while its alliance partner BJP got two with an Independent candidate winning from ward 14.

SAD new urban face of Punjab, claims Sukhbir
Chandiagrh, June 10
Shiromani Akali Dal president and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today has said the victory of the SAD-BJP alliance in Civic polls is the victory of the people and a clear mandate for the alliance's development agenda.




                                                                                  Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD president

Ward bypoll: Cong wins in Bathinda, Ferozepur
Bathinda, June 10
Congress candidate Iqbal Singh Dhillon alias Babli has won the bypoll from ward No. 6 of the Bathinda municipal corporation by 657 votes. He defeated BJP’s Madhu Gargi. Babli’s victory surprised the BJP-SAD workers who were confident of winning the seat that fell vacant after the death of Madhu’s husband Purshottam Gargi. Gargi’s defeat has also come as a setback for Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla. A BJP councillor said factionalism within the party was also to blame for the defeat. Returning Officer Ramvir said 2,969 votes were polled, of which Babli got 1,813 while Gargi secured 1,156.

SAD-BJP wins all 3 seats in Ropar
Ropar, June 10
The candidates of the SAD-BJP alliance have won all the three seats in the Roopnagar Municipal Council by-elections here today.

Murder of democracy, says Capt
Umesh Dewan/TNS

Patiala, June 10
Condemning “widespread booth capturing” in all municipal wards across Patiala, PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh said: “It is the murder of democracy by the ruling alliance”.

He said the elections were a complete “farce”. “When they (Akalis) had already decided to capture booths and not allow anyone cast his vote, what was the purpose of holding the elections? he said and accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of “exhausting all his energies in Patiala and using unfair means in the elections”.

The PCC chief said Badal seemed to be desperate to win the Patiala MC poll. Masked youths under the patronage of Akali leader Prem Singh Chandumajra and supported by the police were freely capturing booths and preventing people from voting, he alleged. “Akali goons even attacked two photo journalists. The police instead of preventing booth capturing only facilitated it,” Capt Amarinder said.

He said cameras installed at polling stations were smashed and damaged to ensure that nothing got recorded.

“The apprehension of local Congress leaders who had approached the HC for Central security forces stands vindicated,” he said.

Re-polling in Ward 1?

Patiala District Magistrate GK Singh said there was some problem in Ward No. 1. “I am waiting for a report from the election staff and if required, I will recommend re-polling”. On allegations of violence and booth capturing, he said he had not received any complaint in this regard, but had instructed the police to take action, if any genuine complaint was received.

Allegations baseless, says Chandumajra

SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra said Amarinder’s allegations were baseless. “It is sad that a leader like Capt Amarinder is indulging in such tactics to defame the SAD-BJP alliance. No one has assaulted any Congress leader or candidate,” he claimed.

SAD-BJP wins 12 seats in Talwandi Sabo, Cong one
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 10
The SAD-BJP alliance has won 12 seats in Talwandi Sabo Nagar Panchayat elections. Of the 13 seats for which voted were polled, the Congress managed to win only one from the ward number 3.

In the by-election for ward number 13 held at Raman Mandi, the BJP candidate, Nirmala Devi was declared the winner while for two seats of the Sangat Mandi municipal body, SAD candidates have been declared the winners without a contest.

With this crushing defeat, the performance and capability of the two-time Congress MLA from the area, Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, also known as a key aide of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Captain Amarinder Singh, is also under the scanner.

“Our victory has proven that people are happy with the development work in the area. People have voted the right party to power,” said an upbeat Akali leader.

Returning officer-cum-SDM, Talwandi Sabo, Anil Kumar Garg said that the winners include SAD candidates from ward No. 1 Sukhdarshan Kaur, from ward No. 2 Gurjatinder Singh, from ward No. 4 Sukhjinder Kaur, from ward No. 5 Surjit Singh, from ward No. 6 Gurcharan Singh, from ward No. 7 Gulab Kaur, from ward No. 8 Balwinder Singh, from ward No. 9 Mithu Singh, from ward No. 10 Kamlesh Kumari, from ward No. 11 Ranjit Singh, from ward No. 12 Jaswant Singh and from ward No. 13 Savinder Kaur.

The lone Congress winner is from the ward number 3, Gurpreet Singh.

Baghapurana emerges as SAD-BJP stronghold

Moga, June 10
The SAD-BJP alliance today won 14 of the total 15 seats of the Baghapurana Municipal Council elections. The SAD won 12 seats while its alliance partner BJP got two with an Independent candidate winning from ward 14.

Winners included Alka Sharma from ward 2, Vijay Bansal from Ward 4, Aarti Sharma from Ward 5, Charanpreet Singh from Ward 7, Anju Bala from Ward 8, Gurdev Singh from Ward 9, Pal Ram from Ward 10, Kamaljeet Kaur from Ward 11, Satnam Singh from Ward 12, Pawan Dhand from Ward 13 and Gurmeet Kaur from Ward 14. Earlier, four SAD candidates Mukand Singh, Bal Krishan, Nand Singh and Balwinder Singh won from Ward 1, 3, 6 and 15, respectively, as the nomination papers of their rivals were rejected due to some errors.

Bhupinder Singh, Returning Officer, said, “The SAD-BJP has won 14 seats.” — TNS

SAD new urban face of Punjab, claims Sukhbir
Tribune News Service

Chandiagrh, June 10
Shiromani Akali Dal president and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today has said the victory of the SAD-BJP alliance in Civic polls is the victory of the people and a clear mandate for the alliance's development agenda. He thanked the voters for peaceful conduct of elections and the support they have extended to the SAD-BJP alliance.

"The SAD has emerged the number one urban party in Punjab. The SAD-BJP alliance has not only swept the poll but also cleared the myth that the SAD had only a rural base. The social engineering model of the party that provides equal representation to all communities across urban and rural areas has made us win all seats in many Nagar Panchayats. This has happened despite the best efforts of the Congress to show its strength in cities and towns," Sukhbir said.

He said after historic victory of the SAD-BJP alliance in the Vidhan Sabha elections, the verdict in the civic elections was a complete rejection of anti-people policies of the Congress party. He said the election results were an approval of the development oriented, pro-poor and pro-people policies of the SAD-BJP government.

Lashing out at the Congress for its anti-people policies, Sukhbir said people of the state rejected the communal, divisive and anti-development policies of the Congress party. He said the Congress party's only aim was to derail the process of development in the state.

Reiterating the commitment of the SAD-BJP alliance, the SAD president said the alliance government would ensure the overall development of the state in the coming two years so that the state excels in the country in almost every field.

Ward bypoll: Cong wins in Bathinda, Ferozepur
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 10
Congress candidate Iqbal Singh Dhillon alias Babli has won the bypoll from ward No. 6 of the Bathinda municipal corporation by 657 votes. He defeated BJP’s Madhu Gargi. Babli’s victory surprised the BJP-SAD workers who were confident of winning the seat that fell vacant after the death of Madhu’s husband Purshottam Gargi. Gargi’s defeat has also come as a setback for Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla. A BJP councillor said factionalism within the party was also to blame for the defeat. Returning Officer Ramvir said 2,969 votes were polled, of which Babli got 1,813 while Gargi secured 1,156.

Ferozepur: Congress candidate Sukhdev Singh has won the by-election from ward no. 4 of Ferozepur municipal council, the result of which was declared today. Returning Officer Gurjit Singh Pannu said of the total 1,989 votes polled, Sukhdev got 1,016 while his nearest rival Narinder Abrol of the BJP scored 579 votes. Sukhdev won by a margin of 497 votes. Parminder Singh, an Independent candidate, polled 272 votes. 

SAD-BJP wins all 3 seats in Ropar
Akash Ghai/TNS

Ropar, June 10
The candidates of the SAD-BJP alliance have won all the three seats in the Roopnagar Municipal Council by-elections here today.

Dominating the proceedings, SAD candidates Amrik Singh and Paramjeet Singh from Ward number 10 and 17, respectively defeated their respective opponents with huge margins.

Paramjit Singh Makkar from Ward number 17 defeated his nearest rival and Congress candidate Vasdev Singh Gill by 909 votes. A total of 1,446 votes were polled, out of which Makkar fetched 1,151 votes, while Gill got only 242 votes.

Similarly in Ward number 10, Amrik Singh got 1,313 votes in comparison to 510 votes secured by Rajinder Kumar Bhanwra of the Congress. The Ward number 13, which witnessed a fight between two members of a family, BJP candidate Madan Mohan Kapila defeated his nephew Hemant Kapila by 171 votes.

Out of the total 1,221 votes polled, Madan Mohan Kapila got 666 votes while Hemant Kapila fetched 495 votes. The other two Independent candidates, Yogesh Kapoor and Naveen, failed to make any impact in the elections. Kapoor managed to fetch 53 votes while Naveen got only seven votes. MLA Daljit Singh Cheema said the win was important for the party. “Earlier, both the seats -- Wards 13 and 17-- were with the Congress, while Ward number 10 was with an Independent candidate. Now, people have given their mandate in our favour. I gave credit to the developmental work initiated by the SAD-BJP combine government in the area for the win,” said Cheema.

Talking to The Tribune, Makkar said he was grateful to the people who voted for him in such a large number. “I got about 80 per cent of the total votes polled. Development of the area is now my prime agenda. I will also put forward the demands of my voters, who are mainly employees of the electricity and the police departments, to my top leaders,” said Makkar.