Hoshiarpur, July 6 -- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made a clean sweep in the Hoshiarpur municipal corporation elections held on Sunday by winning 35 of the 50 wards. The Congress bagged nine seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was restricted to three. Three seats went to Independents, including former deputy mayor Ranjita Chowdhary, who was denied an AAP ticket. Local AAP MLA Brahm Shankar Jimpa's brother Rajeshwar Dyal Babbi and cabinet minister Ravjot Singh's personal assistant Pardeep Saini won from their respective wards, while former mayor Surinder Kumar and former senior deputy mayor Parveen Saini, who switched from the Congress to the AAP, also retained their seats. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which contested 36 seats, drew a blank. SAD's halqa in-charge Sanjiv Talwar's wife and former councillor Neeti lost her seat. Elections went off peacefully amid tight security arrangements. Voting was slow in the morning due to rain, but it gathered pace once the weather cleared up. Nearly 60% voters came out to exercise their right to franchise. MLA Jimpa hailed the victory as a verdict on AAP's "people-oriented" policies, even as district BJP president Nipun Sharma alleged that tampering of voter lists by the ruling party. The civic body results in the border districts of Ferozepur and Fazilka saw the Congress gaining control of the Guru Har Sahai municipal council, while the ruling AAP secured Jalalabad municipal council and Mamdot nagar panchayat. The Congress bagged 13 of the 15 wards in Guru Har Sahai, while the SAD won the remaining two. Both the AAP and the BJP failed to open their accounts. Around 63.50% voter turnout was recorded. As many as nine AAP and two SAD councillors were elected unopposed in the 13-member Mamdot nagar panchayat. Thus, polling was held for only two wards, both of which were won by SAD women candidates. The Congress failed to win a single seat despite Mamdot once being regarded as its traditional stronghold. In Fazilka district, the AAP registered a decisive victory in the Jalalabad municipal elections by winning 12 of the 17 wards, securing a clear majority. The Congress clinched four wards, while the SAD managed to win one seat. The voter turnout stood at 70.02%, with residents turning out in large numbers to elect their municipal representatives. Celebrations erupted among AAP workers after the results were declared, with supporters distributing sweets and congratulating the winning candidates. Reacting to the victory, Jalalabad MLA Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy said the mandate reflected the people's faith in development, transparency and honest governance. "This victory belongs not just to the AAP but to the aware and progressive people of Jalalabad. I sincerely thank every voter who reposed their faith in us and gave the party a decisive mandate," he said. He added that the municipal council would work in coordination with the Punjab government to accelerate development in the town and fulfil the promises made to the electorate....