Punjab Panchayat polls: Landslide win for SAD-BJP

The ruling SAD-BJP combine in Punjab today notched up an emphatic win in Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections in the state romping home in majority of the seats.

The Congress-Peoples Party of Punjab alliance suffered a rout in the elections, polling for which was held on May 19.

Of the 333 Zila Parishad seats, the SAD-BJP combine pocketed around 250 and was ahead in majority of the remaining seats, officials said.

For Block Samitis, the combine bagged over 2500 out of 2732 seats and was leading in most of the others, they said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP secured convincing majority in 14 of the total 22 Zila Parishads and 89 out of 146 Block Samitis.
 

Nearly 300 candidates were elected unopposed to Zila Parishads and Block Samitis, the officials said.

The polls, held every five years, were won by SAD-BJP last time also.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal thanked the people for reposing their faith in the SAD-BJP alliance.

"It is a victory for constructive politics based on a vision of peace and communal harmony. It is also a referendum on our government's performance," he said.

"At the same time, it is yet another defeat for those who indulged in cheap politics, negative propaganda and raised destructive slogans," the Chief Minister said.