It was a landslide for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in Punjab after the complete results of the rural bodies' elections were formally declared on Wednesday.
The combine has gained a clear majority by capturing over 90 per cent of the seats in Zila Parishads and over 77 per cent in Panchayat Samitis, leaving little for the main Opposition Congress and other independent candidates.
Registering another resounding victory, the SAD-BJP alliance has romped home in a majority of the seats bagging 297 Zila Parishad seats out of the total 329 declared, and 2,122 seats in Panchayat Samitis out of the 2,729 declared.
Congress only managed to pocket 26 zila parishad seats and 454 panchayat samiti seats, while others succeeded in winning six and 153, respectively.
The party could not secure even a single seat in zila parishad in the districts of Amritsar, Mohali, Bathinda, Barnala, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar and Tarn Taran. In Panchayat Samitis, the party failed to the double figures in Amritsar, Mohali, Barnala, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Muktsar and Tarn Taran.
Out of the 331 Zila Parishad seats, the State Election Commission declared result of 329 seats with the results of two Zila Parishad zones of ludhiana district still awaited.
Similarly, out of 2,731 Panchayat Samiti seats, the results of 2729 have been declared. Election Commission official said that Nadhor zone of Patti panchayat samiti in Tarn Taran district has been countermanded, and the result of Moga panchayat samiti has been stayed by the Commission with one independent candidate being a proclaimed offender.
Already, 30 candidates to Zila Parishads and 229 to Panchayat Samitis were elected unopposed. For Zila Parishads, a total of 760 and for Panchayat Samitis, 5,786 candidates were in the fray.
The voting was held on May 19, and counting of votes started at 8 am on May 21. While the ruling coalition swept the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections in the Majha and Malwa regions of Punjab, it faced resistance from the opposition Congress at the block level in Doaba.
Congress stood routed in Majha, comprising Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Pathankot. In Malwa, it lost badly in the southern districts of Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Patiala, Sangrur, Faridkot, Fazilka and Ferozepur, where the opposition party could not gain control of even a single Block Samiti.