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Debutant AAP emerges as leading party as Chandigarh MC polls, Kejriwal says sign of coming change in Punjab

“Today, the people of Chandigarh have rejected corrupt politics and chosen the honest politics of AAP. Many congratulations to all the winning candidates and workers of AAP. This time, Punjab is ready for change,” read his tweet in Hindi.

Debutant AAP emerges as leading party as Chandigarh MC polls, Kejriwal says sign of coming change in Punjab

Photo: IANS

In a boost to the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls early next year, AAP emerged as the single largest party winning 14 of 35 wards in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) polls on Monday.

In an embarrassment for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),  which swept the polls last time winning 20 seats, the saffron party could win only 12 seats. BJP’s candidate and sitting mayor Ravi Kant Sharma was defeated by AAP’s Damanpreet Singh. Sharma lost his seat to Singh from ward number 17 by a margin of 828 votes.

Even former mayors and BJP candidates Davesh Moudgil and Rajesh Kali too faced defeat. AAP’s Jasbir defeated Moudgil by 939 votes from ward number 21.

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The Congress suffered with the rise of the AAP in the civic polls as the party could win only eight seats and former Congress mayor Kamlesh also tasted defeat. Chandigarh Congress president Subhash Chawla’s son Sumit Chawla also lost. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) bagged one seat.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party,  which contested the civic polls, was held on Friday, for the first time. The AAP had promised freebies like free 20,000-liter water per month per house, free public parking lots, free door-to-door waste collection, free primary education, and mohalla clinics. Clearing the waste dumping ground was also its promise.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said AAP’s victory in Chandigarh was a sign of change in Punjab After. In a tweet,  hailing the party’s big debut in the Chandigarh civic polls ahead of the state elections in Punjab,  Kejriwal said “This victory of Aam Aadmi Party in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is a sign of the coming change in Punjab,”.

“Today, the people of Chandigarh have rejected corrupt politics and chosen the honest politics of AAP. Many congratulations to all the winning candidates and workers of AAP. This time, Punjab is ready for change,” read his tweet in Hindi.

AAP said the surprise results are a trailer for the Assembly elections early next year. ” The mood of the people here will be seen in upcoming Punjab polls too… the people of Chandigarh have given one chance to Kejriwal, people of Punjab too will give us one chance,” senior party leader Raghav Chadha told a news agency. AAP, which won 20 of the 117 seats in 2017 Punjab Assembly polld, is hoping to win big in the Punjab Assembly elections due in weeks.

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