Barnala town will observe a bandh on Wednesday till 2 pm following protests over the rejection of nomination papers of BJP candidate Rajni Rani and Independent candidate Sweety Goyal from Ward 31 last night during the scrutiny of nominations for the Municipal Corporation elections.The bandh call was announced by Beopar Mandal president Anil Bansal and has received support from opposition parties, traders’ associations and several social organisations. Addressing a gathering at Aggarwal Dharamshala, Bansal alleged that the rejection of nomination papers reflected government interference in the electoral process.Political temperatures in the town started escalating with the beginning of protests as leaders from the Congress, BJP, SAD and former AAP leader Gurdeep Bath staged a protest inside the district administrative complex, terming the development a “murder of democracy”. They later shifted the protest to a road outside the complex, from where some protesters were forcibly removed.Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Sampla later attended a joint meeting of opposition parties and traders at a dharamshala. He warned local AAP leaders and the administration against alleged political interference. Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Kala Dhillon claimed the AAP had anticipated defeat and was therefore resorting to such tactics.Meanwhile, Rajni Rani alleged that her nomination papers were initially accepted by officials but were later rejected with mala fide intent. BJP leaders said the party would move the High Court against the rejection.Meanwhile, in Malout town, continuing their protest over the alleged violence at the SDM office complex, activists of the Congress, SAD and BJP took out a protest march seeking action against Arsh Sidhu, personal assistant to Cabinet Minister and local MLA Dr Baljit Kaur.They alleged that a Congress leader’s turban was tossed during the clash and blamed Arsh for the incident. Earlier in the day, both Dr Baljit Kaur and Arsh denied the allegations and claimed Congress workers had initiated the clash, in which an AAP activist was injured and admitted to a hospital in Faridkot. Congress leaders later submitted a complaint at the local police station.In Muktsar, SAD workers led by former MLA Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi staged a protest outside the residence of AAP MLA Jagdeep Singh ‘Kaka’ Brar’s personal assistant Vikram Kumar Vicky. Rozy alleged that nomination papers of four SAD candidates were deliberately rejected under political pressure and warned of legal action, while Vicky termed the allegations baseless.In Bathinda, Congress and SAD activists separately staged protests inside the district administrative complex over the rejection of nomination papers of some candidates.