Clashes, booth capturing and allegations of voter intimidation between supporters of Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were reported from several parts of Punjab for elections to 102 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations, on Tuesday. The results will be declared on 29 May.
Voting was held for 75 municipal councils and 20 nagar panchayats, apart from eight municipal corporations Mohali, Moga, Bathinda, Batala, Kapurthala, Abohar, Pathankot and Barnala. Voting was recorded at 64% out of total 3,545,567 registered voters in the state. The local body elections are being considered politically important before the assembly elections to be held next year.
Majitha in Amritsar district witnessed a tense scene during voting for Municipal Council when a clash broke out between SAD and AAP workers, in which one person was injured. AAP workers also allegedly clashed with SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, prompting police intervention to disperse both the groups.
When Majithia along with his wife Ganeev Kaur reached the polling booth to cast their vote, SAD and AAP workers raised slogans in favor and against him, which increased the tension further. According to SAD workers, the AAP candidate’s husband allegedly entered a polling booth with several supporters and attempted to intimidate voters. SAD workers protested against the move and informed Majithia, who later reached the spot and spoke to police officials and demanded strict action against those allegedly disrupting the election process.
Amid the confrontation, an AAP worker allegedly attacked a SAD worker with a sharp-edged weapon after he removed his turban, injuring him.
Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Suhail Qasim Mir reached the spot to bring the situation under control. Police detained some people and initiated legal proceedings.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said the widespread violence in several cities reflected an attempt to “kill democracy at the grassroots level” and accused the State Election Commission and police of being mute spectators.
Jagdev Singh Jagga, Congress candidate from Ward No. 4 of Raikot in Ludhiana, was injured in an attack by a group of people with sharp weapons. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Waring and opposition leader Pratap Singh Bajwa condemned the incident and criticized the AAP government over the law and order situation in the state.
AAP spokesperson Neel Garg rejected the opposition’s allegations, claiming that the elections were conducted more peacefully than during the previous regime and saying that there were no incidents of booth capturing anywhere in the state.
In Bhawanigarh and Sunam in Sangrur district, tension prevailed with the ruling and opposition parties alleging booth capturing, election code violations and physical fights.
Congress leader and former cabinet minister Vijay Inder Singla alleged that AAP attempted booth capturing and said he had approached the high court seeking observers under the court’s supervision, which was granted. He claimed that in Ward No. 13, a Congress polling agent was forcibly removed after marking fake votes, following which the station house officer had to intervene and reinstate the agent inside the polling booth.
AAP MLA from Sangrur Narinder Kaur Bharaj rejected the allegations and said that AAP leaders did not enter any polling booth. He accused Congress of creating unnecessary controversy due to lack of issues.
In Sunam, Congress leader Rajinder Deepa allegedly pushed Punjab cabinet minister Aman Arora’s officer on special duty Amritpal Singh outside a polling booth in Ward No. 1. Deepa alleged that she was talking to the media about the lack of basic facilities when the OSD interfered in the press interaction. However, the OSD said that Deepa was holding a press conference near the polling area in violation of the election code of conduct and misbehaved when she was questioned.
The personal security officer (PSO) of BJP district president Sarup Chand Singla was injured during the clash between BJP and AAP workers in Bathinda. Police said the PSO fired warning shots in the air to disperse the attackers. Cross FIR is being registered on the instructions of the State Election Commission.
In another incident, AAP leader Amarjeet Mehta was accused of threatening the family of independent candidate Ramandeep Kaur. Her husband alleged that armed men damaged vehicles and opened fire.
Bathinda SSP Jyoti Yadav Bains said that the police have registered a case against unknown people and investigation is underway. He said that Mehta is not visible in the footage submitted so far. Workers of AAP and Shiromani Akali Dal also clashed near the polling booths in Giddarbaha of Muktsar.
In Barnala, BJP candidate’s husband Jasveer Singh was injured after he was allegedly attacked with bricks and sharp weapons.
He alleged that outsiders associated with AAP were roaming in the ward and casting fake votes at the ITI polling station. He further claimed that his turban was forcibly removed during the attack. Singh demanded strict action against those responsible.
Police said the injured have been admitted to Barnala Civil Hospital and an FIR will be lodged after receiving the Medico Legal Report (MLR).
Several incidents of violence took place during polling in Samana in Patiala district, including stone pelting, clashes, police intervention and allegations of booth capturing and fake voting.
Residents of Ram Basti alleged intimidation and being prevented from voting, leading to clashes with police. The situation became so bad that the police had to resort to lathi charge and fire in the air to disperse the crowd. Many police personnel and civilians were injured.
Reports also said masked men attacked polling stations and broke windows in an attempt to intimidate voters. Allegations of attempted booth capturing and fake voting were made in Ward No. 9 and Ward No. 3.
Patiala Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chaudhary said that in the incident there was a clash between two groups, the situation was immediately controlled.
Voting in 34 local bodies in South Malwa was largely mixed, with incidents of clashes and allegations of excesses in some areas.
Voting was largely peaceful in the Doaba region, including Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur, with no major incidents of violence or booth capturing reported, with the overall voter turnout being 64.38%.
In Jalandhar district, municipal committees including Adampur, Kartarpur, Nakodar, Nurmahal and Phillaur recorded 66.62% voting. Kapurthala Municipal Corporation reported 61.5%, Sultanpur Lodhi 68.84%, SBS Nagar 60.22% and Hoshiarpur 65.53%.
Omkar Singh, former officer on special duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, was taken into custody by the police in Dhuri on Tuesday, when the local body elections were going on.
Sangrur SSP Ravjot Grewal confirmed the detention, saying it was a precautionary measure after Omkar Singh, who joined the BJP in January, was caught campaigning for the saffron party during the mandatory election “silent period”.
The silence period is a legally mandated 48-hour period before the close of voting.
“This action has been taken following the orders of Sangrur Deputy Commissioner, barring outsiders – who are not registered voters in this specific constituency – from being in the area during polling,” the SSP said. Omkar, once a close aide of Mann, was appointed OSD in August 2022. He was removed from the post in September 2024 and later joined the BJP on January 16, 2026.
Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu faced a scuffle-like situation as he was stopped by the police while trying to reach Dhuri to ensure Omkar’s release.
After the release, Bittu hit out at Mann, claiming that the detention had only exposed the growing presence of the BJP.
Bittu said, “No matter how much you do arbitrarily now, you will not be able to escape from it in 2027.” Bittu said, “Mamata Banerjee also thought the same. As long as you are in power, the police will salute you. This arbitrariness in Dhuri-Maan’s own constituency shows that their game is over.”
Omkar, a voter from Lambi in Muktsar, said he was detained around 8.30 am on Tuesday and released around 5.30 pm. Denying any campaigning on the day of polling, he alleged that AAP has deployed at least 50 people in every ward of Dhuri to cast fake votes and is encouraging BJP candidates.
AAP leader and Sunam MLA Aman Arora defended the administration after casting his vote. “We had decided from day one that there should not be any excessive or unfair cancellation of nominations,” he said.
(Input from Amritsar, Sangrur, Bathinda, Patiala, Jalandhar)
(Input from HTC Amritsar, Sangrur, Bathinda, Patiala, Jalandhar)
