Three out of 13. This was the score of Punjab’s ruling AAP in nagar panchayat polls held at Khanauri in Sangrur district on Saturday. The small town is located about 2 km from the farmers’ protest site along NH52, which stretches for approximately 5 km to the Punjab-Haryana border.
Despite the AAP contesting all 13 wards on its symbol, voters preferred independent candidates. Surinder Sangroli, a voter from ward 2, said that the AAP’s Sheenu Garg won ward 6 unopposed after all other candidates withdrew. Kuldeep Singh and Kuldeep Kaur won wards 7 and 13, respectively, for the ruling party.
Sangroli said that independent candidate Sinderjeet Kaur won ward 2 by a margin of 100 votes, defeating Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Gurdeep Vehniwal, adding that Sinderjeet received 390 votes, while the AAP’s Bholi Devi got only 74.
“What else do they want to hear from us voters? We support the farmers on dharna, but locals are suffering. A journey that used to take 20 minutes now takes an hour through villages,” he said.
Independent candidate Harbans Lal wins from Ward number 5 of Khanauri Nagar Panchayat
Balwinder Singh, who won as an independent from ward 3, said, “The AAP wanted me to contest on its symbol, but I refused. I won by 125 votes. In our ward, everyone contested as independents. The AAP hasn’t addressed civic issues or cleared the highway. The ahrityas are suffering as many farmers from Haryana used to come to them to sell crops. The scrap market in Khanauri is also suffering due to reduced clients from Haryana. Voters can send a message only by rejecting the ruling party, which is why no one took their symbol in this ward.”
Some independents were backed by Shiromani Akali Dal or Congress but chose to contest without symbols. Voters indicated that in Nagar Panchayat polls, people tend to vote for individuals rather than parties. “The farmers’ dharna has been ongoing for over 10 months, and locals suffer when they navigate inner village lanes. There’s an economic loss as well. What is the state government doing? They are acting as mute spectators. People are really angry at the ruling AAP, so the results are obvious,” a voter said.
Khanauri is in the Lehragaga Assembly constituency.
Residents also said that while the highway is blocked, inner lanes are in poor condition, with issues like sewerage overflow and waterlogging persisting even after minimal rainfall.
In Sangrur, the AAP received a clear message from the public, as it could win only seven out of 29 wards in the municipal council, while independents secured 10 and the Congress and the BJP won nine and three wards, respectively.
In the Moonak nagar council, the AAP managed to win seven out of 13 seats, barely achieving a majority. The party had a comfortable win only in Dirba and Cheema nagar panchayats, where its candidates respectively won 10 and 11 out of the 13 seats.
In the Rampura Phul municipal council in Bathinda district, which has a total of 21 wards, the AAP failed to secure a majority, winning only nine seats while independents got 11 and the SAD one. “Mostly Congress and SAD candidates won as independents, but people knew their political affiliations despite their not contesting on a party symbol. Their campaign strategies clearly indicated their party connections,” said Rattan Sharma, a local resident.
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