Steadily drifting apart from its coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday blamed the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for turning the tide against its candidates during the recently concluded municipal elections. The elections to six municipal corporations along with 122 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, held in the last week of the previous month, were won by the SAD-BJP combine that bagged majority of seats.
Notwithstanding, the State BJP leadership in its assessment meeting, held under the chairmanship of the State BJP chief Kamal Sharma, for the municipal elections minced no words to point out how the SAD leaders and workers worked against the saffron party and its candidates, even at places where the two were contesting polls in alliance.
Sources informed The Pioneer that the leaders, in the meeting attended by senior party leadership, district in-charges, among others, blamed the Akalis for deliberately fielding their men against the BJP candidates to damage their winning prospects. Besides, it was also alleged that the administrative and police machinery were acting on SAD’s behest.
The submissions were made by the district unit heads from Mansa, Muktsar, Tarn Taran, besides others. Even though the two coalition partners had announced to contest the civic polls together, the differences at several places resulted in a situation where the two fielded their candidates against each other, especially in Tarn Taran where the younger brother of State local Bodies Minister and BJP MlA Anil Joshi was allegedly attacked by the Akali men.
Taking everything on record, the State party president Sharma maintained that the same would be taken up with the SAD leadership. At the same time, Sharma asked the party workers for working harder to fulfil the people’s expectations after winning civic polls.
Sharma, while chairing the meeting, said that the party’s stupendous win was a “stamp over good governance provided by the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has increased the faith of the people towards the BJP”. He asked the newly elected members of different councils and corporations to work overnight for the people of the State so that the party gets the chance to fulfil the aspirations of the voters.
“Not only in Punjab, the BJP has come out victorious in civic body polls in other States as well including in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. This shows that the people have reposed faith in the BJP. But at the same time, this victory has brought us many duties towards voters that need to be obeyed at any cost. It’s time to work harder and take party to new heights,” said Sharma while exhorting the elected representatives.