The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) big victory in the Punjab Assembly polls hints that the State people have voted for ‘alternative politics’. It also shows a trust-deficit on the traditional parties – the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP. The AAP was leading in over 90 seats of the the 117 constituencies.
The ‘disillusionment’ of the voters from the traditional parties could be gauged from the fact that stalwarts of the Congress and the SAD faced drubbing at the hands of relative newcomers of the AAP. Among those who were trailing in their constituencies included Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi (both seats), former Chief Minister and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
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In its campaign, the AAP sought voters to give it ‘a chance’ against the ‘traditional’ parties - to let it replicate the ‘Delhi model of governance’, where it’s in power. The clear mandate reflects that the issues of improved education and better health services had made a cut among voters, who felt that over the years these sectors were neglected by the successive governments of the Congress and the SAD-BJP.
No ‘outsider’
The announcement of Punjab-based Bhagwant Mann as its chief ministerial candidate also worked in favour of the AAP, as it helped the party to counter the narrative of an ‘outsider’ party. The win for the AAP is all set to boost party supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s prospect to launch himself in 2024 as a national leader.
With its government in Punjab, the AAP could now work towards setting an example of their work and project Punjab as a model State of their work to move ahead nationally. The AAP pitched its campaign surrounding the ‘Delhi model of governance’, seeking ‘one chance’ to form the next government, which seems to have cut the ice among voters.
The drubbing faced by the ruling Congress makes it evident that it has paid a heavy cost for its internal infighting besides the anti-incumbency factor. The party, ahead of the polls, had bet its fortune surrounding the ‘Dalit’ politics, which also have failed to pay the dividend.
Major setback for SAD
For the SAD, which was seeking to make a political comeback with a new alliance partner – the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the election trends are a major setback. As the SAD looks facing one of its worst electoral drubbings by unlikely to reach even the two-figure mark, the Akalis will have something to worry about because gradually internal bickering could start in the party and Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal’s leadership could begin to see a challenge from within the party. It seems to have failed yet again to gain the trust of its core ‘Panthic’ (Sikh) voters. It also seemed to have faced farmers’ ire and suffered a loss of being a partner with the BJP when the controversial farm laws were enacted.
The alliance of the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress-Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) seems to have failed to leave any mark as the alliance looked formidable in only a little over a couple of constituencies.
The debut of farmer unions under the banner of ‘Samyukt Samaj Morcha’ (SSM) - an amalgamation of 22 Punjab-based farmer outfits that actively participated against the farm laws – also couldn’t leave any impact on the State’s electoral politics.
