Amarinder Singh (R), Arvind Kejriwal (centre) and Sukhbir Singh Badal. Amarinder Singh (R), Arvind Kejriwal (centre) and Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The Congress secured a sweeping majority in the three municipal corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala which went to polls today, while counting continued at the remaining seats. Congress bagged 66 out of 80 wards in Jalandhar, in Patiala in won 56 out of 60 wards and in Amritsar the party managed to win 69 of the 85 wards.

In a statement issued this evening Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said, “I congratulate people of Punjab for not succumbing to the pressure tactics of the opposition, which had tried hard to derail the free and democratic poll process with its cheap gimmickry and provocative acts.”

Earlier in the day, three municipal corportations and 29 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Punjab went to polls amid tight security. A total of 925 candidates are in the fray for the elections to three municipal corporations with the ruling Congress, the SAD-BJP and the AAP contesting the polls.

The civic polls in the state were held nine months after the assembly elections in the state, in which the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government wrested the power in the state from SAD-BJP combine. Notably, this was the first time the voters had the option of ‘None Of The Above’ in civic bodies polls.

Below are the LIVE UPDATES: 8.58pm: Captain Amarinder cited reports of Akali workers allegedly threatening voters to stay at home and to not cast their ballots. 8.57pm: Former SAD MLA Manpreet Ayali also alleges same, SAD workers also protested. 8.56pm: AAP contested from 11 wards, lost all. 8.54pm: Local AAP MLA (Dakha) HS Phoolka alleges booth capturing and bogus voting by Congress workers. 8.50pm: Congress wins all 13 wards of Mullanpur-Dakha Municipal Council. 8.35pm: SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged booth capturing and violence during the civic polls in the state. “We are going to High Court against this criminal conspiracy” Badal was quoted as saying by ANI. 8.29pm: Amritsar – Out of a total 85 wards, Congress bagged 69 seats, while SAD got six and four Independents won. 8.27pm: Patiala – Out of total 60 wards, Congress bagged 56, while results on four remaining wards were yet awaited. 8.25pm: Jalandhar – Out of a total 80 wards, Congress won 66, while BJP got 8 and SAD got 4; AAP failed to get any ward, while two independents registered victory. 7.45pm: “This is vindication of our policies, programmes,” commented Amarinder Singh on the civic poll result, reports ANI. 7.32pm: “Election results have been very good, we are very pleased. You can’t get a better result than this. Out of three corporations, we have swept polls and won all of them,” says CM Amarinder Singh, reports ANI. 7.27pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh thanked the people of Punjab for turning out in huge numbers to support the Congress in the state civic polls.

My heartfelt thanks to people of Punjab for turning out in huge numbers to support the Congress in MC, Nagar Panchayat & Council elections. The sweeping victory for @INCPunjab is a clear vindication of our policies and a defeat of the Opposition’s false propaganda. — Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 17, 2017 7.05pm: Congress workers celebrate as the party leads in Amritsar Municipal Corporation polls. “This is the first victory that Rahul Gandhi has tasted as Congress President, third victory in our Captain’s turban,” Navjot Singh Sidhu was quoted as saying by ANI. (Source: ANI) (Source: ANI) 6.40pm: “The preparations made by the Captain Amarinder Singh government ensured that the situation remained under control”, Jakhar added thanking Congress workers for maintaining peace in the face of provocative acts of violence by the opposition. 6.36pm: “Akalis tried their best to scare the voters away from the booths, especially in areas where the Congress has a strong hold, but failed to intimidate them,” said Sunil Jakhar, in a statement issued here towards the end of polling. 6.33pm: Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday thanked the people and party workers for ensuring smooth and impressive turnout in the Municipal Council and Municipal Committee elections, despite the efforts by the Akalis to scuttle the poll process through threats, violence and rumour mongering in some areas. 6.20pm: Police detained AAP workers for holding protest over the alleged rigging. 6.15pm: Alleging rigging at a few polling booths in Patiala, AAP workers marched towards Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s private residence. 6.14pm: SAD demanded cancellation of the polls in view of the violence that took place in Patiala. 6.12pm: Alleging violence during civic polls, SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the Congress of using police force to target Akali candidates. 6.10pm: Barring a few incidents of violence in Patiala, the polling remained peaceful. 6.08pm: Counting is underway in three Municipal Corporations and 29 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats in Punjab. Detailed results are likely to come in by 8 pm. 6.05pm: The ruling Congress party in Punjab is emerging victorious and heading for a clean sweep in all the three Municipal Corporations – Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. 6.00pm: Nine months after the state assembly elections were held in Punjab, civil polls were held in Amritsar, Patiala and Jalandhar today. 5.45pm: Voting began at 8 am today morning ancd ended at 4 pm.

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