The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured control of the Faridkot Municipal Council (MC) after its official nominee, Baljinder Singh “Babbu” Ahuja, was elected President. Despite an internal rebellion that threatened to derail the ruling party’s ambitions, Ahuja crossed the victory line by drawing cross-party support from some Congress councillors.

However, factionalism and a chaotic uproar forced the administration to indefinitely postpone the elections for the posts of Senior Vice President and Vice President.

Out of the 25 elected municipal wards, a total of 26 votes were eligible to be cast, which included the vote of the local AAP MLA. In the MC elections, no party had gotten the sufficient number of seats to elect its president. Out of total 25 MC seats in Faridkot, AAP had bagged 9 seats, followed by 8 to Congress and 7 to SAD(B) candidates. An Independent candidate was elected on one seat.

Despite holding only 9 seats, the official AAP candidate, Baljinder Singh Ahuja, managed to consolidate 14 councillors alongside the single vote of the local MLA to secure a winning majority. Meanwhile, the opposition was split. SAD(B) nominee Vikas Vicki garnered 7 votes, while an internal AAP rebel candidate, Satnam Singh, managed to pull 4 votes.

The election was clouded by infighting within the local AAP camp. The party’s high command faced mutiny from a faction led by AAP councillor Satnam Singh, who openly defied leadership to stake his claim to the presidency.

With the rebel faction threatening to rock the ruling party’s chances, a surprise realignment unfolded in the voting hall. Recognising the mathematical vulnerability of the official candidate, members of the Congress party stepped in to vote in favor of Ahuja. This unexpected cross-party voting effectively neutralised the AAP rebellion.

While external help settled the presidential seat, the peace was short-lived. The internal rift within AAP widened further when the floor opened to select the Senior Vice President and Vice President.

An uproar, slogan-shouting, and a collapse of consensus between the competing factions brought the proceedings to a halt.

To prevent a law-and-order failure in the council hall, the electoral officer and local administration officially deferred the elections for both deputy positions to a later date.