The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday coasted to victory in the Punjab civic body elections, winning 958, or 48% of 1,977 wards. Hailing the win, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said people had “defeated the politics of hatred and supported developmental politics”. The Congress finished second with 397 wards and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) fourth with 192, behind Independents at 251. The BJP came a distant fifth, but the party managed to increase its tally from 49 to 172, increasing its footprint across Punjab’s urban and semi-urban landscape. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won seven wards. Out of eight municipal corporations, the AAP won five: Barnala, Batala, Moga, Mohali, and Bathinda. Barnala is the home turf of newly appointed state BJP president Kewal Dhillon. The Congress had a clear majority in Kapurthala, while the BJP won Abohar. In Pathankot, no party was able to get a majority, but the BJP emerged as the single-largest party.…