Chandigarh, May 30 -- Hoping to improve its urban footprint through the Punjab civic elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) managed to win only seven seats despite fielding 96 candidates across the state on its election symbol. The party's tally marks only a slight improvement from the five seats it had won in the 2021 civic polls.

The BSP's strongest showing came from Rahon municipal council in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, home to a sizeable Scheduled Caste population, with four of its candidates emerging victorious in the 13-member civic body.

In the 2021 civic body elections, the BSP had won five wards out of 1,817 despite fielding 160 candidates. Notably, the party had contested those elections without its election symbol....