Punjab Local Body Polls: AAP Maintains Commanding Lead In Early Trends

<p>The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading in Punjab’s local body elections, securing 850 of the 1,735 wards counted so far out of a total 1,977. Congress is in second place with 342 wards, followed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) with 165 and the BJP with 131. Amid the counting, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh took a swipe at the BJP, calling it the "ED Party" and claiming it had failed to make an impact despite allegedly poaching seven MPs. Sharing figures from municipal body elections held through ballot papers, Singh claimed AAP won 34 of 48 local bodies, while Congress secured three, SAD six and the BJP none.</p>