SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal put up a brave face as he congratulated party candidates and the independent candidates backed by the party for what he called a “splendid performance". (File photo) The Shiromani Akali Dal’s electoral decline, which began around 14 years, deepened further with the Panthic party being relegated to the fourth spot, behind Independents, in the results of the urban local body polls that was declared Friday. The party won 191 seats, down from 284 in the 2021 civic polls, and behind 251 that Independents got this year. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party dominated the results with 958 seats, a staggering leap from the 69 it had won in 2021 — a turnaround that strategists within SAD have been quietly pointing to as a potential template for their own revival. The argument goes that AAP had performed dismally in the 2021 local body elections but went on to sweep the 2022 Assembly elections. SAD, the argument follows, could stage a similar comeback.…