AAP today wrested control of the politically significant Nangal Municipal Council, electing Kiran Bala as president, Ramesh Masha as senior vice-president and Jaspreet Kaur as vice-president after the Congress and the BJP boycotted the process, alleging that the Punjab Government had used official agencies to influence the outcome.
The election, held amid heavy police deployment, was preceded by high political drama as Congress leaders accused the ruling party of intimidating its elected councillors through raids by government agencies on the eve of voting.
Punjab Education and Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains, who is also the local MLA, was present at the Municipal Council office during the election.
Earlier in the day, Congress workers, led by former Punjab Assembly Speaker KP Rana, gheraoed the Nangal police station, alleging misuse of state machinery to put pressure on Congress councillors ahead of the election.
The protesters raised slogans against the Punjab Government and demanded an impartial inquiry.
Addressing the dharna, KP Rana alleged that teams of the GST Department, the State Vigilance Bureau and the Punjab Police had carried out raids at the residences of Congress councillors on Monday night, barely hours before the election.
Calling the action a "blatant abuse of power", he alleged that nearly all Congress councillors had been targeted to force them to switch sides. "The timing of these raids clearly indicates an attempt to influence the election. Democratic institutions are being undermined through the misuse of government machinery," he alleged.
Congress leaders claimed that the ruling party lacked the numbers to secure the presidency on its own and had therefore resorted to pressure tactics.
The elections assumed political significance because of the fractured verdict in the 19-member Municipal Council. The Congress had emerged as the single largest party with eight councillors, while the AAP had seven. The BJP had three councillors and one seat was held by an Independent. The Independent candidate joined AAP this morning and extended support to the party, taking their numbers to eight in the House.
Rejecting allegations of the Congress, Harjot Singh Bains said Congress councillors claiming harassment were free to approach him. "If any government official is found to have pressured elected representatives, strict action would be taken," he said, dismissing the Opposition's charge of political intimidation.
With the Congress and the BJP staying away from the proceedings, AAP candidates were elected to all three top posts.
BJP state vice president Subhash Sharma termed today’s election “illegal and unconstitutional”. He said that AAP, even with the support of an Independent, had eight councillors in a House of 19. As the party lacked majority, the election to the post of president of the council was illegal, he said, adding that the BJP would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the move.
The BJP councillor did not attend the House proceedings today just to ensure that the government did not use official machinery to circumvent rules of electing AAP candidate, he said.
The Nangal Municipal Council is considered the most influential urban local body in Ropar district, with the largest electorate and substantial financial resources. The control of the civic body is expected to strengthen the ruling party's political position in the region ahead of the next Assembly elections.