The Congress secured a decisive victory in the Kapurthala municipal corporation elections on Friday, winning 31 of the 50 wards, even as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dominated the civic polls across much of the Doaba region. In the 2021 elections, the Congress had secured 46 seats in the corporation.MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh with Congress workers after the party won the Kapurthala municipal corporation election. (HT)Of the 18 local bodies across Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts that went to polls, the AAP secured a clear majority in 10, while the Congress emerged victorious in three civic bodies, including the Kapurthala municipal corporation.Independent candidates held away in the remaining five municipalities.The AAP, led by its halqa in-charge, Karambir Singh Chandi, secured 11 wards. The BJP and SAD won three seats each. Two wards went to the independent candidates.Sitting Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh called it a mandate against the ruling party.“The people of Kapurthala have reposed faith in the Congress despite the entire government machinery working in favour of the AAP,” Rana Gurjeet alleged.In the Sultanpur Lodhi municipal committee elections, where Rana Gurjeet’s son and independent MLA Rana Inder Pratap Singh led the independent candidates’ faction, which won seven of the 13 wards. The AAP won five seats, while the SAD won one. The Congress failed to open its account in the civic body.In Jalandhar district, the AAP emerged as the leading party across seven civic bodies, winning 49 of the total 99 wards. The Congress won 21, while independent candidates bagged 22. The BJP secured three seats, while the SAD and BSP won two each.The ruling party won in Adampur and Kartarpur constituencies, winning 10 and 9 wards, respectively. The Congress got three seats in Kartarpur, while the BJP won one. In Nakodar and Nurmehal, the AAP fell short of a majority. It won only seven of 17 wards in Nakodar, with the Congress winning four, while five seats went to independent candidates. The BJP won one. In Nurmehal, the independent candidates dominated, winning eight of the 13 wards, while the AAP won four and the BJP one.The Congress won seven out of 13 wards in Mehatpur, with the SAD and AAP winning two seats each.The Phillaur results dealt a setback to Congress legislator Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary as the party only won three seats. The AAP won eight seats, and the Bahujan Samaj Party won two. In Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, the Congress won eight out of 19 wards, while the AAP got six.AAP won the Banga civic polls securing 10 out of 15 wards. In Rahon, independent candidates backed by the SAD and BSP won 12 of the 13 wards.In Hoshiarpur district, the AAP registered impressive victories in five municipal bodies, sweeping the civic polls in Tanda, Hariana, Dasuya, Garhshankar and Gardhiwala.The BJP was leading in seven of the 15 wards in Mukerian. The Congress won six, while the AAP won only one seat.(With inputs from Harpreet Kaur from Hoshiarpur)