The BJP won a majority in Abohar's municipal corporation and increased its Punjab ward tally, but remained fifth statewide in the May 29 civic results, according to the Indian Express. Its May 30 constituency-level report puts the party above 170 wards, compared with 49 in the 2021 elections.
Abohar supplied the clearest gain: the BJP won 28 of 50 wards against AAP's 20. In 2021, Congress had taken 49 wards there while the Jakhar family was still associated with it. The town is the home of outgoing Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, and his nephew Sandeep is its legislator.
The results differed in other leadership strongholds. In Barnala, associated with new state president Kewal Singh Dhillon, BJP won seven wards while AAP secured 36 of 50. In Pathankot, represented by BJP working president Ashwani Sharma, the party took 18 wards, compared with SAD's 12 and AAP's four.
A separate results dispatch by the newspaper reported statewide totals of 958 for AAP, 397 for Congress, 251 for Independents, 192 for SAD, 172 for BJP and seven for BSP. Those figures place BJP's expansion within an election still led by AAP, rather than indicating a statewide BJP lead.
AAP won five of the eight municipal corporations: Barnala, Batala, Moga, Mohali and Bathinda. Congress secured a majority in Kapurthala, while no party won a majority in Pathankot despite BJP emerging largest. The distribution distinguishes outright control of a corporation from having the most councillors in a divided body.
The newspaper's historical comparison also records changes between civic and Assembly contests. Congress won 1,516 municipal wards in 2021 but fell to 18 Assembly seats in 2022, when AAP won 92. The BJP's new municipal footholds are therefore identifiable organisational gains, while the past results demonstrate that civic success and the subsequent statewide verdict can diverge.
