The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) suffered another disappointing electoral outing in Punjab’s civic body polls, managing victories in only 192 of the 1,251 seats it contested and finishing behind even Independent candidates, who bagged 251 wards across the state.A SAD candidate with his supporters in Amritsar on Friday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)The party failed to make any significant impact in the eight municipal corporations, but performed relatively better in several smaller municipal councils and nagar panchayats, particularly in pockets considered traditional Akali strongholds.Among the municipal corporations, SAD’s best performance came in Mohali, where it won four of the 50 wards. In Kapurthala, Moga and Bathinda municipal corporations, the party could secure only three of 50 seats each.In Abohar, Barnala, Pathankot and Batala, the Akali Dal failed to open its account, wiping out its presence entirely from the civic bodies there.The party, however, fared better in smaller civic entities. In Maluka municipal council, SAD clinched nine of the 11 seats, securing a clear majority, while the remaining two went to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In Sangat too, it emerged as the single largest party with six of the 11 seats.The Akali Dal also led in Majitha and Bhuchho civic bodies, though it fell short of majority in both places.Alleging irregularities in the conduct of polls, party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema claimed there was “negligible scope” left for Opposition parties. “Nominations of opposition candidates were rejected in large numbers and on polling day, supporters of the ruling party stopped supporters of other parties, particularly SAD, from exercising their franchise,” he alleged.Cheema, however, said the party cadres had “put up a brave fight”, which he described as the most important aspect of the election.