With the spectacular victory of the ruling Congress inthe municipal polls of Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday saidit had secured a win by resorting to state-sponsored repression.
But it lauded Akali workers for asserting themselvesboldly and ensuring SAD emerged as the main opposition to the "corrupt andincompetent Congress party".
In a statement here, party spokesman Daljit Singh Cheemasaid even as SAD has emerged as the principal opposition party in Punjab postmunicipal elections despite going alone for the first time, the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) had been completely decimated in the state.
He said SAD candidates gave a tough fight to the Congressacross the state with almost all seats witnessing a direct contest between theCongress and SAD. "The vote share of SAD has also increased in urbanareas," he said.
"AAP has secured the number four position inelections to the municipal corporations," he added.
The former minister said "it seems the civilmachinery and Punjab Police has won the day for the Congress along with equalhelp from the state election commission".
"More than 500 nomination papers of SAD candidatesalone were rejected along with a couple of hundred of other parties in anattempt to make the entire election process a nomination process. This alonecalls for sacking of the election commission."
He said the Congress had seen the writing on the wallmuch before the polls and unleashed a systematic campaign of terror,intimidation, violence and murder.
The Congress won six of the seven municipal corporationelections with a clear majority and emerged the largest party in the seventhone. In the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda, once the strongholdof SAD, the Congress created history by getting a party Mayor for the firsttime in 53 years.
The Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency is represented bySAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who was the party's only representative in thecentral government before quitting in the wake of the passage of theagricultural laws.
The results for the urban local bodies' elections haveconfirmed a loss of face for the BJP in Punjab amidst the protest of farmersagainst the three contentious farm laws as ruling Congress and the saffronparty's former ally SAD managed to win big in the polls.