Initially tipped to win Punjab in 2017, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) campaign floundered in the last leg. There were no hiccups this time round as it mopped up 92 of the 117 seats. Underlining this emphatic win were several giant-killing acts that felled former Chief Ministers and star candidates of its rivals.
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Jeevan Jyot Kaur essayed what is perhaps the biggest upset of them all. The AAP candidate remained in the shadows as Amritsar (East) turned into a prestige battle between Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who decided to contest from this constituency after Mr. Sidhu dared him to.
On result day, Ms. Kaur won by securing 39,679 votes and relegated Mr. Sidhu and Mr. Majithia to second and third spot.
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Ms. Kaur wasn’t the only ‘David’ defeating rival Goliaths. At least a dozen Congress and Akali stalwarts faced a drubbing at the hands of AAP candidates. Besides incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, three former Chief Ministers faced defeat in the electoral battle — Parkash Singh Badal, Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.
Channi loses both seats
AAP’s Labh Singh Ugoke defeated Mr. Channi by a margin of 37,558 votes from Bhadaur seat while AAP’s Charanjit Singh defeated him in Chamkaur Sahib by a margin of 7,942 votes. While addressing Punjab voters as early trends hinted at a massive win, party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said: “You know who defeated Charanjit Singh [Channi]? AAP candidate Labh Singh Ugoke who works in a mobile repair shop.”
AAP’s Gurmeet Singh Khudian defeated Mr. Badal, at 94 years the oldest candidate in the fray, from Lambi seat in Muktsar district by a margin of 11,396 votes.
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Jagdeep Kamboj accounted for the SAD patron’s son and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal in Jalalabad seat in Fazilka district, the AAP candidate winning by a margin of 30,930 votes.
AAP candidate Ajit Pal Singh Kohli defeated former Chief Minister and chief of the Punjab Lok Congress Amarinder Singh from Patiala (Urban) by a margin of 19,873 votes.
Dancing to frenetic bhangra tunes, AAP supporters started celebrating early on Thursday as the party looked all set to form the next government in Punjab. In Sangrur, where the party’s chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann resides, thousands waved the party flag and kept chanting ‘jhadu phir gaya’ — meaning the broom (AAP) has swept the polls.
The offices and residences of Akali and Congress leaders across the State presented a stark contrast, devoid of any of the hubbub associated with ecstatic crowds.