18122025-JTR-01.qxd 12/17/2025 11:31 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune SAD STAGES DHARNA AFTER CANDIDATE LOSES BY ONE VOTE IGNORING FOOT CARE CAN COST DIABETICS DEAR, SAYS DOCTOR BREAKOUT PERFORMANCES THAT DEFINED 2025 Tension prevailed at a Hoshiarpur college during the counting of votes for the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti election. P2 Surgeon Dr Rajnder Sharma suggests regular cleaning & moisturising of feet; cautions against smoking.P3 From Vishal Jethwa’s Homeboundto Sanya Malhotra’s in Mrs, the year belonged to actors who redefined their craft. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 20°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.27 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:21 AM THURSDAY | 18 DECEMBER 2025 | JALANDHAR AAP gains slim lead over Congress in Jalandhar RURAL POLLSKartarpur dominated by AAP |Shahkot swings to Congress | BSP emerges strong in Phillaur |BJP falters badly Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 17 The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress saw a neck-andneck fight on most of the Block Samiti and Zila Parishad seats in Jalandhar till the filing of the report. Of the 188 Panchayat Samitis in the district, the results of 129 seats were made available. Of these, 45 went to the Aam Aadmi Party, 43 to the Congress, SAD got an edge on 15 seats, the BSP won 16 and BJP got a duck. Six seats were bagged by the candidates, who contested without party symbols. Of the 21 Zila Parishad zones, nine went in favour of AAP Congress was close at . eight, BSP got three, SAD one and BJP nil. The Kartarpur Assembly segment remained largely one-sided in favour of AAP with both Dhaliwal and Wariana Zila Parishad zones going in favour of it. Ex-minister Balkar Singh also had a reason to celebrate the victory of 15 of 19 candidates of Block Samiti, with the remaining IN PANCHAYAT SAMITIS, AAP GETS 45, CONG 43 ■ Of the 188 Panchayat Samitis in the district, the results of 129 seats were made available. ■ Of these, 45 went to the Aam Aadmi Party, 43 to the Congress, SAD got an edge on 15 seats, the BSP won 16 and BJP got a duck. ■ Six seats were bagged by the candidates, who contested without party symbols. In ZP poll, AAP leads ■ Of the 21 Zila Parishad zones, nine went in favour of AAP. ■ Congress was close at eight, BSP got three, SAD one, BJP nil. ■ Congress MLA Pargat Singh alleged that the counting process was not fair three going in favour of the Congress and one for the BSP . Division within the Congress marred its prospects. On the contrary, Shahkot voters tilted towards the Congress led by MLA Hardev S Laddi Sherowalia. The party won all four ZP seats — Bajwa Kalan, Adhraman, Dhandowal and Gidderpindi. AAP workers celebrate victory of party candidates in Kartarpur Block; and (right) AAP Block Samiti winner candidate Sital Singh from Alipur after winning poll in Jalandhar. PHOTOS: MALKIAT SINGH AND SARABJIT SINGH Of the 45 Block Samiti seats, the Congress got a clear edge on 25. The ruling AAP could bag 14 seats and the remaining six went to Akali winners. In Phillaur, the confusion within AAP caused it a heavy dent. Nine seats went to the BSP in Phillaur block which bagged another two from Rurka Kalan. The Congress polled five in both blocks. SAD got seven and AAP remained dismally low at just four of 35 seats. Of the eight Independents, who won here, two had the backing of Congress MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary. MP Charanjit Channi’s candidate Bhalwinder Kaur won from Bundala while Chaudhary’s candidate Shindo from the Dosanjh Kalan ZP seat. From Jalandhar East Block, which falls largely under Jalandhar Cantt constituency, AAP got an edge. The party won 10 Block Samiti seats while the remaining five went to the Congress. AAP won both Zila Parishad zones of Jamsher and Jandiala. Congress MLA Pargat Singh alleged that the counting process was not fair. “Our Partappura candidate was made to lose by nine votes. Our candidate Harbhupinder Samra from Samrai lost by 12 votes as 34 votes in our favour were declared invalid here. In Jamsher, we lost by 35 votes and 80 votes were declared In Kapurthala, AAP ahead with 24 seats, Cong 15 Cong protests recounting in MLA Khaira finds fault in counting process, protests with supporters outside centre Sahni Zone-4 Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 17 AAP was leading with 24 seats and the Congress got 15 seats in the rural polls in Kapurthala district till the filing of the report today. The results of six zones of the Zila Parishad and 59 zones of the Block Samiti were announced amid protests during the counting of votes. The results of four zones of the Zila Parishad and 29 zones of the Block Samiti are pending. Of the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti results declared so far, AAP has won 24 and the Congress 15 seats. In Kapurthala district, out of 10 Zila Parishad zones, the results of six of which have been announced, three were won by the Congress, 2 by AAP and one by SAD. Meanwhile, out of 59 zones of five block samitis, 22 zones have been won by the Aam Aadmi Party (three seats won by AAP unopposed), 12 by the Congress, seven by SAD, 17 by Independents and one by the BSP. Fierce protests and slaganeering was witnessed by Congress’ Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira at Nadala this evening, along with his supporters, as he alleged deliberate delay in the annoucement of results on seats, where he claimed Congress candidates were winning or had won. In the Block Samiti elections whose results have been announced — at Kapurthala, out of 16 zones, 10 have been won by the Congress, four by the Shiromani Akali Dal and two by AAP; of 15 seats in Sultanpur Lodhi, eight have been won by Independents and seven by AAP; in Phagwara, six seats have been won by AAP 3 by SAD, 2 by the Con, gress, one by BSP and one by an Independent. Meanwhile, Khaira, with hundreds of Congress supporters, gathered at the Nadala counting centre as they raised slogans against the state government for hours. Interacting with the media, Khaira said, “We have been standing here since 8 am and there is inor- MLA Sukhpal Khaira during a protest in Nadhala on Wednesday. dinate delay in annoucement of some of our winning candidates.” Khaira also alleged false cases were registered against some candidates of the Congress or their relatives. BLOCK BREAKDOWN ■ Kapurthala (16 zones): Congress 10, SAD 4, AAP 2 ■ Sultanpur Lodhi (15 zones): AAP 7, Ind 8 ■ Fattu Dhinga (15 zones): AAP 7, Ind 8 ■ Phagwara (13 zones): AAP 6, SAD 3, Cong 2, BSP 1, Ind 1 PHAGWARA, DECEMBER 17 Congress activists staged a protest on the PhagwaraNakodar road on Wednesday against the recounting of votes in the Sahni Zone-4 Block Samiti election in Phagwara, alleging manipulation in the counting process to defeat their candidate. The protesters claimed that Congress candidate Surinder Kaur had initially secured victory from village Narur but a recount was deliberately ordered to alter the result. According to Congress leaders, the recount led to the declaration of AAP candidate Rajinder Kaur as the winner. They further alleged that the application seeking recounting was filed by AAP leaders using fake signatures of Rajinder Kaur, terming the process unfair. Congress workers briefly blocked the Nakodar road for around 15 minutes, causing minor disruption to traffic. The road was later reopened, restoring normal movement. Congress workers gathered outside the counting centre at Ramgarhia Institute, Phagwara, where they raised slogans against the AAP — OC . Photos on p2 invalid”, he alleged, adding that there was no transparency. On the contrary, AAP’s Rajwinder Thiara claimed, “We lost Jandiala Block Samiti with a very slender margin”. In Nakodar Assembly segment blocks, it was a close contest for all parties. The Congress won 10 of 19 Block Samitis. Three went to the BSP which was in alliance , here with the Congress. SAD got two. Four went to AAP For . the ZP two zones of Uggi and , Talwan went to the Congress. Darshan S Tahli, who was former DCC (rural) chief and had moved to AAP won one , zone of the AAP BSP got the . third one. AAP gets lion’s share in Hoshiarpur district Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi Hoshiarpur, December 17 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged as the dominant political force in the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Hoshiarpur district, winning a majority of seats across the district as counting continued on Wednesday. AAP secured an impressive victory in both Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samitis spread across all 10 blocks of the district. In the Zila Parishad, out of a total of 25 seats, AAP won five seats, while leading on 15 more, apparently on its way to register a clear majority. The Congress managed to secure four seats, while the BJP won one seat. The results indicate a strong mandate in favour of AAP at the district level. AAP also performed strongly in the Panchayat Samiti elections, where results for most of the seats had been declared, while counting was still underway for the remaining seats. In Hoshiarpur Block-1, out of 11 seats announced so far, Congress won six seats, AAP four and SAD one. In Hoshiarpur Block-2, AAP led with 10 seats out of 16 declared, the Congress got three, SAD two and Independent candidate won one seat. In Bhunga Block, AAP won three of the six declared seats, while SAD secured two and the Congress one. Mahilpur Block witnessed a clean sweep by AAP which won all nine , seats declared. In Garhshankar Block, AAP won five of the 10 declared seats, Congress three and SAD one. AAP continued its strong showing in Tanda Block, winning six of nine declared seats, while the Congress secured three. In Dasuya Block, AAP won eight of 10 seats, withthe Congress taking two. In Hajipur Block, AAP secured six of nine declared seats, the Congress two and the BJP one. In Mukerian Block, AAP won five of 11 declared seats, one went to independent, the BJP three and Congress two. In Talwara Block, AAP secured four of eight declared seats, followed by the Congress with two and BJP also two. Counting was still in progress for the remaining seats at the time of filing of this report. In Nawanshahr, Congress First fog, visibility When legend Messi kicked performs better than AAP reduced to 15 metre footballs made in Jalandhar Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 17 The Congress seems to have grown stronger in Nawanshahr, where it does not have even a single MLA on any of three Assembly seats. The Block Samiti and Zila Parishad election result on Wednesday infused new zeal in Congress in the region, with the party winning six Zila Parishad zones, against the ruling AAP’s four. In the Panchayat Samiti elections, too, Congress fared better, winning 33 zones against AAP’s 29, SAD’s 9, BSP’s seven. Independent candidates claimed victory in four zones. The Nawanshahr Assembly seat is currently represented by the BSP . In the Nawanshahr block on Wednesday, Congress — led by ex-MLA Angad Saini — won in 15 zones, while AAP won in five, BSP three and SAD two. An upbeat Saini said: “The party placed its faith in me by allotting symbols to all my candidates. I supported them all fully, and the results have been resounding.” In Balachaur, where Ajay Mangupur, the District Congress Committee chief, had been leading the candidates, Congress won eight seats, AAP three, and SAD four. Also, an Independent candidate bagged a seat. In the Saroya block, AAP and the Congress both won five zones. The SAD won one, and the BSP added two seats to its kitty. Two zones were won by Independents. In Banga, Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who had won as the SAD MLA in 2022 before switching to AAP , ensured that his party did well in the region, which was the only area where AAP managed a good lead. Jalandhar, December 17 Since the onset of the winter, the city witnessed the first dense fog of the season on Wednesday. The fog was so dense around 8 am that the visibility was just about 15 metres. Since it was the time for children to commute to their schools, the traffic moved as a snail’s pace. Children came wrapped in layers of woollens, including caps, mufflers and gloves. The fog started thinning after 9 am and the rays of the Sun could be finally seen by 10:30 am. Milkmen, newspaper hawkers and office-goers had to face issues in commuting. c m y b Roadside tea stalls remained a big hit during the morning hours. The number of people going for morning walks, gym or cycling has come down. “I am regular with my morning walk but seeing a thick fog from my bedroom window, I became a bit lazy and did not feel like getting out from my warm blanket”, said Amardeep Singh, a resident of Model Town. The day, however, remained quite sunny and warm and it again started to get cold by 5 pm. The minimum temperature recorded on Wednesday was 10 degrees Celsius while the maximum was 22 degrees. — TNS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 17 As Argentinian legend and FIFA World Cup-winning player Lionel Messi was at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday, it was quite a special moment for Jalandhar, too. The football legend played with Jalandhar-made Spartan Sports footballs in his final stop of his “GOAT India Tour” 2025. Says Amit Sharma, MD, Spartan Sports Corporation, “We had sent 40 top-class footballs for the event. Messi liked our footballs. He kicked about 25-30 footballs towards the stands where spectators were cheering him. All these balls were of our company.” Another memorable event for Jalandhar was that he played the game with the young players in the stadium. One among those, who got a chance to play with him, was Jalandhar-based Rayen Sharma, who is also an international player in the under-15 category and is a part of the Minerva Academy Football Club. Rayen said, “It was like a dream come true to have got a chance to play with Messi. The feelings cannot be described in words.” Rayen especially wore a T-shirt with Messi’s picture and name on it for the event. His mother Chandni Sharma and cousin Hamayra Sharma too got a chance to meet Messi. Messi got his pictures clicked with the players at the event.