India, Dec. 21 -- The results of the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in Punjab have triggered a sharp political confrontation, with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party projecting the verdict as proof of pro-incumbency, while the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal have alleged large-scale rigging and misuse of state machinery.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said the party had won around 70 per cent of the total seats, calling the outcome a clear endorsement of the Bhagwant Mann government's performance over the past four years. Addressing a press conference in Mohali along with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal said AAP would go into the next Assembly elections on the plank of development carried out in the state.

Kejriwal ...