An “understanding” between state’s ruling AAP and the principal opposition Congress in the election of office-bearers of block samitis in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Baghapurana has triggered a political row in Punjab.In these blocks samitis, the two parties — otherwise fiercely pitched against each other at the state level — appear to have cooperated tactically to prevent the SAD from gaining control of the top posts. In Kotkapura, AAP councillors voted for a Congress candidate, paving the way for the latter’s election.In Faridkot, Congress extended support to help an AAP member secure the block samiti chairman’s post.In Baghapurana, AAP and the Congress registered a decisive victory in the re-poll held on Saturday.Ruling AAP’s Sarabjit Kaur was elected chairperson while Congress candidate Charanjit Kaur bagged the vice-chairperson’s post. The fresh polling was conducted under the supervision of a court-appointed commission after the initial election on March 17 was marred by disputes.Fixed match: SukhbirShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has described the developments as a “fixed match”, alleging it was a sign of an impending alliance between AAP and Congress ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Neither party has neither announced any formal post-poll alliance nor issued an official statement on the coordination.Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring downplayed the episode, terming it a “pragmatic decision taken at the grassroots level” for the smooth functioning of the block samitis.“I am rather at the forefront of speaking against ruling AAP,” he asserted.Local AAP leaders described the outcome as a “local convergence” aimed at effective functioning of the elected bodies. The development has drawn sharp reaction from the BJP.Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar alleged that the local alliance was the result of state Congress chief Warring’s “tacit understanding” with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He pointed to Warring’s alleged deviation from the Congress stand on seeking a CBI probe into the suicide of an official of the Punjab Warehousing Corporation.With several municipal and local body elections slated later this year, the block samiti episodes have triggered fresh debate on whether such selective post-poll understandings could hint at shifting political alignments in the state ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.