The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept four of the five municipal corporations in the Malwa region, securing victories in Bathinda, Moga, Barnala and Mohali, while the BJP secured a majority in Abohar.Supporters of candidates dance outside the counting station and celebrate after the Bathinda Municipal Corporation election results are announced on Friday. (Sanjeev Kumar / HT)In Bathinda MC, the AAP won 35 of the 50 wards to secure a clear majority. Amarjit Mehta, president of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), led the campaigning in support of his son and former mayor Paramjeet Mehta. Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Sandhwan’s mother-in-law, Harbans Kaur, won from Ward 5 in Bathinda.The Congress, which had a majority in the last municipal polls, managed to secure just four seats. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won three wards, and the BJP won only one seat. Six independent candidates also emerged victorious.In Barnala, AAP won 36 of the 50 wards. The BJP won seven seats, with five wards secured by the independents. The Congress managed two seats.Out of 50 wards in Moga, the AAP won 30 seats and the runner-up Congress got seven seats. The BJP and the SAD won three seats each, whereas the Independents emerged victorious in seven wards. In Mohali, the AAP won 26 of the 50 seats, followed by the Congress with 12 seats. The SAD four and the BJP three. The Independent candidates won four seats.Lotus blooms in Jakhar’s bastionThe BJP retained control of Abohar MC by winning 28 wards in the 50-member civic body House. According to the state election commission data, the AAP registered victories in 20 seats. The Congress managed to get only one seat, and an Independent also won in Abohar.The results come a day after the BJP witnessed Sunil Jakhar’s exit as the state president. Jakhar’s nephew and suspended Congress MLA Sandeep Jakhar played an active role in helping the BJP secure its first-ever victory in Abohar.During the last municipal elections held in 2021, the Congress had won 49 out of 50 seats. However, when Sunil Jakhar shifted to the BJP in 2023, 46 Abohar councillors also quit the Congress to join the saffron party.Across most of the 34 local bodies spread over seven districts of South Malwa, the AAP maintained an edge.The SAD, however, had a strong showing in the semi-urban areas of Sangat, Kotfatta and Kotshamir, which are part of the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency represented by the SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal.AAP sweeps SangrurIn chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district, Sangrur, AAP secured a commanding lead across four municipalities—Sunam, Dhuri, Bhawanigarh, and Longowal— winning 55 of the 74 wards. The Independent candidates won nine seats, while the Congress was ranked a distant third with seven seats. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) won 2 seats (one each in Longowal and Bhawanigarh), while the BJP won one seat in Sunam.In the Dhuri municipal council, which falls within Mann’s constituency, AAP won 19 out of the 21 seats, with the remaining two seats going to independent candidates.The party also secured a comfortable majority in the Sunam municipal council, winning 19 of the 23 wards. AAP Punjab president and cabinet minister Aman Arora thanked voters for the mandate and said the results reflected public faith in the state government’s policies and performance.In the Bhawanigarh municipal council, the AAP and Congress won seven seats each in the 15-member body, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secured one seat. In Longowal, the AAP emerged victorious in 10 of the 15 wards. Independent candidates won four seats, while the SAD managed one ward.In Barnala district’s three municipalities, Tapa, Bhadaur and Dhanaula, comprising 91 wards, the AAP won 57 seats, followed by independents with 22. The BJP secured eight wins, and the SAD and Congress won two seats each.In the municipal elections of Fazilka town, the BJP emerged as the largest party, winning 11 of the 25 wards. The Congress won nine seats, whereas the AAP managed to win six wards.Of the four municipal councils, Rajpura, Samana, Nabha and Patran, in Patiala district, AAP could manage a clear majority only in two.Overall, AAP won 41 of the total 92 wards. The Congress secured 20 wards, followed by the BJP with 16 and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) with nine. The remaining seats went to the Independent candidates.AAP crossed the halfway mark in Samana and Patran. In Rajpura, the Congress and the BJP won nine seats each in the 31-member House. AAP won seven wards, while the remaining seats went to other candidates.In Nabha, AAP emerged as the single largest party, winning 11 of the 23 wards. The Congress won five wards, while the BJP secured three and the SAD two.Cong routed in GidderbahaIn Gidderbaha municipality, long considered a stronghold of Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, the AAP registered a sweeping win. Out of 19 wards, the ruling party’s candidates won 17 seats, and the remaining two wards went to the Congress.The semi-urban civic body is a part of the Gidderbaha assembly seat that Warring represented for three consecutive terms from 2012 to 2022.