The Congress on Friday showed a few flashes of resistance amid an Aam Aadmi Party wave in the urban local body elections in Punjab even as the results are likely to deepen the faultlines within the Opposition party and may trigger some changes in state leadership in the run up to the 2027 Assembly elections.
Former chief minister and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi, who is pushing for a change within the state unit and is eyeing the president’s post, managed to bolster his claim delivering a double victory to Congress by sweeping the local bodies polls in his two spheres of influence — Chamkaur Sahib and Morinda.
Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh too maintained his hold on his bastion with a decisive victory over the Aam Aadmi Party in Kapurthala even as the Congress took the lead in Nawanshahar and put up a strong fight in Pathankot and Mukerian almost equalling the ruling party’s tally.
The results , however, dealt a blow to state Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in Gidderbaha, his traditional stronghold where AAP breached the bastion by winning 17 out of 19 municipal council wards. The embarrassment was magnified by the fact that it came on the day that Congress high command, led by Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, were reviewing the state unit’s organisational structure in New Delhi.
The results in Gidderbaha is significant personal setback for Warring who had devoted major time to the constituency over the past two weeks, camping there round the clock to ensure a better performance. The AAP’s breakthrough, meanwhile, underscores its expanding influence even in opposition pockets and is likely to prompt introspection within Congress ranks.
Congress delivered one of its strongest performances in Kapurthala Municipal Corporation, securing 31 out of 50 wards, with AAP managing only 11. This stands out as a major win, allowing Congress to control one of the eight municipal corporations and providing a platform for organisational revival in the Doaba region. Local MLA Rana Gurjit Singh and his son, Rana Inder Pratap Singh, the independent MLA from neighbouring Sultanpur Lodhi constituency, once again proved their strong hold over the twin constituencies in Doaba. In Sultanpur Lodhi, independent candidates backed by Rana Inder Pratap won seven out of 13 seats.
Congress also performed credibly in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahar), winning eight out of 19 wards, pushing AAP to a second spot with six. The results come as a major boost to former Congress MLA Angad Singh and reflects party’s regained ground, aligning with its historical dominance in parts of the area.
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In Chamkaur Sahib Nagar Panchayat, Channi demonstrated resilience securing notable wards and building on prior strong showings. In Morinda, also a Channi stronghold, Congress won 10 wards out of 15. In Patti, Congress took the lead winning eight seats while AAP came second with six.
Across the state, Congress’s overall tally trailed AAP significantly but stayed ahead of SAD and BJP. The party picked up scattered wins in Mohali, Patti, Fazilka, Rajpura, and Nangal but faced routs in AAP strongholds like Dhuri.
These polls, viewed as a “semi-final” ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, carry important signals. AAP’s sweeping urban dominance, including inroads into traditional Congress areas like Gidderbaha, reinforces the ruling party’s momentum and governance narrative, suggesting it remains the frontrunner as far as poll performance is concerned.
For Congress, the loss in Warring’s backyard highlights persistent organisational challenges, factionalism, and difficulties in converting anti-incumbency into broad gains.
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However, isolated successes in Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, Chamkaur Sahib, Pathankot and Mukerian offer pockets of hope, indicating potential revival bases in Doaba and southern Malwa if the party strengthens cadre mobilisation, candidate selection, and alliances. A fragmented opposition, with independents playing a spoiler role, could benefit AAP in multi-cornered 2027 contests, but without rapid consolidation and addressing urban erosion, Congress risks remaining a distant challenger.
Warring, meanwhile, congratulated party workers for their courage in putting up a brave fight against the ruling AAP, which, he said, abused power and misused official machinery during the municipal elections held across Punjab. “It was their stated policy of ‘saam, daam, dand, bhed’ that was nakedly displayed during the municipal elections across Punjab,” he said in a statement.
Warring said the results are no real indicator of the ground reality in Punjab, which is completely against the ruling party. “The real contest will be held in 2027, just some months from now when AAP will be made to bite the dust,” he said.”I reaffirm and reiterate that the AAP will not win even ten (of the 117) seats in 2027″, he asserted, while remarking that AAP may celebrate the “stolen glory” of municipal elections but the celebrations will prove quite short-lived.
He said that there was brutal misuse of official machinery and police by the ruling party in the local body polls. Despite that, he added, AAP could not cross the halfway mark even in terms of total wards.
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According to the Punjab State Election Commission data for the civic poll results at 10pm, AAP won 954 of the total 1,977 wards, the Congress 397, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) 192 wards while the BJP managed to win 172 wards in the civic body elections. Independent candidates performed fairly well in these urban local body elections by registering victory in 251 wards. The BSP won six wards.
