After a morale boosting electoral performance in the civic polls, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday thanked the people for reposing faith in “progressive and result oriented” policies of the SAD-BJP alliance Government by ensuring their thumping victory.
“With these results, the SAD-BJP Government further dedicates itself to building a new Punjab, free from poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and social evils and put it on the high-growth trajectory,” said Badal.
He said these results should not be merely construed as a victory in civic polls but it actually reflected the resentment amongst the voters against the malicious campaign unleashed by the Congress to defame the hard working and resilient Punjabis.
Deputy Chief Minister and SAD president Sukhbir Badal said the victory of SAD-BJP in all six municipal corporations and municipal councils has once again established the fact that intelligent electorate of the state only vote for development and once again outrightly rejected the divisive politics of Congress.
Sukhbir also congratulated the party cadre for their commitment and ensuring thumping majority of SAD-BJP combine.
Thanking the Punjabis and State machinery for peaceful and maximum participation in grass root level election process, he expressed confidence that the elected representatives would work for the people’s welfare.
Sharma assures to fulfil people’s all expectation
Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma, terming the party’s victory as victory of development agenda and peole’s faith, has assured that saffron party will fulfil all expectations of the masses.
“The BJP and Akali Dal contested the municipal elections solely on the issue of development and people have acknowledged the work done by the government in a big way,” he said.
Amarinder alleges manipulation by Akalis
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh alleged that the municipal polls were “brutally manipulated” by the Akalis.
“Given the Akalis’ way of misusing power and official machinery, the local bodies’ elections and also the bypolls are mostly won by them whenever they are in power,” he said.
At the same time, Capt Amarinder said that the results should sound a note of caution for the Congress as people had voted for independent candidates at a number of places where they could otherwise have voted for the Congress against the Akalis or the BJP.
“The way a large number of independent candidates won in these elections is a clear signal that the Congress cannot afford any complacency in the hope that it can ride to power merely on anti-incumbency against the ruling alliance, but needs to work much harder from right now only,” he said.
Capt Amarinder said that there was no doubt that people were very angry and unhappy with the ruling SAD-BJP alliance. “Despite the pressure from the ruling alliance, people at several places did express their anger by voting against the alliance candidates,” he said.
“But instead of voting for the Congress as the principal opposition party, they voted for the independents in a substantially large number of places,” he pointed out, adding that the same should make the Congress party sit down and introspect as why it has not been able to capitalise on the anti-incumbency against the Akalis.