Prateek Tanmay
4 min readChandigarhMay 26, 2026 01:25 PM IST
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring arrived at a polling booth in Muktsar on a bullock cart along with his wife and Congress leader Amrita Warring in a symbolic gesture to highlight rising fuel prices and inflation as voting for urban local bodies (ULB) began across Punjab Tuesday.
“I can afford to get my vehicles refilled even if fuel prices rise, but what about daily wage earners and middle-class families who have fixed budgets for their two-wheelers?”
“Petrol and diesel have become expensive. Through this, we want to convey the concerns of common people to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and question what the promised ‘good days’ have actually brought for the public,” he said.
The move, however, received mixed reactions on social media after Warring shared photographs online. Some users remarked that political leaders could help save fuel by reducing the size of their security convoys.
The gesture was widely viewed as a political message directed at the BJP, which is contesting the ULB polls in Punjab on its party symbol. Meanwhile, several senior political leaders cast their votes in different parts of the state as polling was underway in 103 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, as well as several municipal corporations.
Political heavyweights cast their votes
In Barnala, Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and his wife cast their votes at SD College in the morning as polling for the Barnala Municipal Corporation got underway. BJP state vice president Kewal Dhillon also cast his vote at the same booth.
In Pathankot, BJP working president Ashwani Sharma cast his vote as polling took place for the Pathankot Municipal Corporation. Sharma, who is also the sitting MLA from Pathankot, had focused his campaign extensively in the area ahead of the elections.
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In Abohar, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar campaigned door-to-door in recent days alongside his nephew, Sandeep Jakhar. The Jakhar family has deep political roots in Abohar. Sandeep Jakhar, currently suspended from the Congress, is the sitting MLA from Abohar, while Sunil Jakhar is a former MLA from the constituency.
Political equations in Abohar have changed significantly since the 2021 municipal elections, when the Congress won 49 of 50 wards in the municipal corporation, with Sunil Jakhar as the Punjab Congress president. However, after joining the BJP in May 2022, 44 Congress councillors in the civic body reportedly shifted allegiance to the BJP.
In Bathinda, AAP MLA Jagroop Singh Gill made an indirect political statement hours before polling for 50 wards of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation, posting a message on Facebook urging voters to “vote judiciously”.
Despite being a member of the AAP, Gill stopped short of openly appealing for votes for his party amid his reported differences with local AAP leader Amarjeet Mehta, who is leading the election campaign in Bathinda. Gill had earlier mentioned that the ticket allotment in the Bathinda Municipal Corporation was given in favour of only one person, referring to Mehta.
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Gill also referred to several former Congress councillors fielded by the AAP in these elections and urged voters to evaluate their previous performance before casting their votes.
“Before casting your vote, see whether the previously elected councillors actually carried out development works for the city. Also, examine the background of those leading such candidates. Vote fearlessly while maintaining communal harmony,” Gill said in his message.
