Chandigarh, June 2 -- As many as 31 Independents, who were elected as councillors in the recently held Punjab civic polls, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday, bumping up the party's representation in municipalities. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal inducted the 31 councillors into the party fold at the party office in Chandigarh. Addressing a press conference later, the SAD president said with 31 Independents expressing their faith in the SAD, the total number of wards "won under the SAD leadership" had gone up to 243. The party had won 192 wards under its own symbol. He also announced that now SAD had secured a complete majority in nine municipal committees, including Maluka (9/11), Kot Shamir (11/13), Bhagta Bhaika (7/13), Bhucho (7/13), Nathana (7/11), Lehra Mohabbat (8/11), Sangat (6/9), Kot Fatta (8/11) and Rahon (10/13). Badal claimed that the SAD had secured the number one position in terms of votes polled in a number of committees, including Faridkot, Mehraj, Majitha and Maur. Despite this, the party candidates were declared defeated, he alleged. Accusing the AAP government of misusing state machinery, Badal claimed that the SAD performed better than the Congress. He said the SAD was "restricted to contesting 1,251 seats compared to the 1,550 seats contested by the Congress". "Despite being forced to contest 300 seats less than the Congress, the latter could win only 150 more seats than the SAD," he added. Answering a media query, Badal said the police action against party's senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia was political vendetta. He claimed that one day prior to the revelation that a SAD worker had been apprehended, AAP leader Talbir Gill forcibly freed his worker from police custody. "However no action was taken against Gill even as Bikram Majithia is being targeted," he alleged. In the civic poll results declared on May 29, AAP had secured 958 wards out of the total 1,977 across 102 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations. Congress remained at the second spot by winning 397 wards, SAD secured 192 wards, while the BJP won 172. Independents registered victory in 251 wards, while the BSP finished last with seven wins....