CHANDIGARH, Dec 13 — Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday alleged that opposition parties were forging local-level alliances to counter the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections.
“At many places, these three rival parties are supporting common candidates against AAP,” Mann said. “But the public will vote for AAP, the only party with credibility and a record of delivering on its promises.”
Mann also launched a sharp attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal, accusing the party of criminal influence. “The ‘B’ in SAD stands for beadbi and badmashi,” he said, alleging that gangsters were being used to intimidate voters and that a relative of a gangster had been fielded in the Tarn Taran bypoll.
Listing the number of candidates fielded by each party, Mann said AAP contested all 347 Zila Parishad seats, while Congress fielded candidates on 331 seats, the Akalis on 298 and the BJP on 215. In the Panchayat Samiti polls, AAP contested 2,771 seats, compared with 2,433 by the Congress, 1,814 by the Akalis, 1,127 by the BJP and 195 by the BSP.
“Prospective candidates believe the Congress is in political doldrums after prominent leaders failed to secure wins for their kin in recent bypolls,” Mann said.
He said voters were responding positively to the AAP government’s work. “People are impressed by improvements in school infrastructure, aam aadmi clinics, new roads, better irrigation and a shift toward canal water instead of tubewells,” Mann said.
The elections for Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti seats are scheduled for Saturday.
