AAP grabs mayoral posts in Barnala, Bathinda, Moga

Bathinda: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured the mayoral posts in the municipal corporations of Barnala, Bathinda and Moga in Punjab's Malwa region. Elections to the top posts were held on Thursday.AAP had won 36 of the 50 wards in Barnala, 35 of the 50 wards in Bathinda and 30 of the 50 wards in Moga municipal corporation in the May 26 elections. The election for mayor of Abohar municipal corporation is yet to be notified. The BJP has a majority in Abohar after winning 28 of the 50 wards.Bathinda mayor Padamjit Singh Mehta was re-elected mayor. A postgraduate of the University of London, Padamjit is the son of Punjab Cricket Association president Amarjit Singh Mehta. He was first elected mayor on Feb 5, 2025, after winning a byelection from Ward 48.Hasanpreet Bhardwaj was elected the first mayor of Barnala after the town was upgraded to a municipal corporation in late 2025. Bhardwaj, considered close to Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, served as OSD to Hayer when the latter was a Punjab minister before contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur.Vinaypal Kaur was elected mayor of Moga. As per the roster under the Punjab Reservation for the Offices of Mayors of Municipal Corporations Rules, 2017, the mayoral post in Moga was reserved for the backward classes (BC) category, while the posts in the other corporations were unreserved.There were only two councillors from the BC category in Moga.Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan's mother-in-law Harbans Kaur was also learnt to have been in the race, along with AAP youth wing functionary Mandeep Kaur Ramgarhia.Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the AAP govt had clear instructions for its elected representatives to ensure clean governance in the corporations.Punjab minister Hardeep Singh Mundian accompanied Amarjit Mehta and Padamjit Mehta after the latter was elected mayor, while Punjab minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond and Moga MLA Amandeep Kaur Arora said Moga municipal corporation would work towards providing better civic amenities under the leadership of AAP.