Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday hailed the victory of Congress-backed candidates in the recently concluded panchayat polls in the State as a triumph of democracy and a clear vindication of his government’s policies.
He also congratulated the people of Punjab for ensuring a largely peaceful poll, in which 80.38% of the total 12,787,395 eligible voters exercised their franchise.
Security forces hailed
Of the 13,276 booths in which polling was held, re-poll has been ordered in 14, Mr. Singh said in a statement here, lauding the security forces for maintaining law and order during the elections “despite attempts by the Opposition to trigger trouble”.
“Undeterred by the false propaganda unleashed by the Opposition parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, against the Congress government, the voters came out in large numbers without fear to cast their votes in favour of my party’s candidates,” he said.
“This shows that the disillusionment of the electorate with the SAD and other parties, including the BJP and AAP, is complete,” the Chief Minister said, adding the people of Punjab were no longer willing to be misled by “canards” being spread by these parties.
“The victory of Congress-backed candidates is a triumph of democracy and a vindication of my government’s policies,” he said.