Opposition cries foul during Punjab municipal polls

Chandigarh, Dec 17 (IANS) The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP accused the ruling Congress of booth capturing and misuse of power as voting was held on Sunday for municipal bodies across Punjab.

Minor clashes between Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party workers and those of the Congress were reported from Patiala city and a few other places.

In Patiala, the hometown of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, police cane charged supporters of both the SAD-BJP and the Congress as the situation turned violent.

Akali Dal and BJP leaders held a protest outside the office of the State Election Commission in Chandigarh on Sunday afternoon and accused the Congress of rigging the municipal polls.

"We have not seen such murder of democracy as what happened today (Sunday)," Akali Dal leader and former Minister Daljit Singh Cheema told the media in Chandigarh.

Polling began at 8 a.m. and continued till 4 p.m. State Election Commission officials said the counting of votes was scheduled to begin around 5.30 p.m. and the results were expected after a few hours.

Nearly 45 per cent voting was reported from various places till 3 p.m., election officials said.

Voting was held for three Municipal Corporations in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, and 29 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats.

The election for MC in Punjab's largest city Ludhiana was not held as the electoral rolls were not updated.

Candidates in 90 wards have won unopposed. There were 873 polling stations and 1,938 polling booths across the state.

This is the first big election in the state after the Congress government, led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, came to power after the Punjab assembly polls in February. The results were out in March.

The Congress won 77 of the 117 assembly seats. The AAP finished second with 20 seats.