It won’t be a cliche to say that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has broken out in a joyous bhangra to celebrate the early trends that indicate it is scoring a massive lead in Punjab with 90 of the 117 assembly seats, almost secured. The election symbol of the broom has swept the major opposition parties – the Indian National Congress (INC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and their leaders into a distant corner. It is for the first time that both these parties who have governed the state for the last seven decades in total, will now be seated side by side in the opposition benches.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal lost no time in congratulating Bhagwant Mann, the party’s face and chief ministerial candidate in the state:
इस इंक़लाब के लिए पंजाब के लोगों को बहुत-बहुत बधाई। pic.twitter.com/BIJqv8OnGa
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 10, 2022
Mann, as per media reports, intends to take his oath of office in Khatkarkala, the ancestral village of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, instead of holding the ceremony in the usual venue – the Raj Bhawan.
Though final victory figures are not out yet, at 2:30 PM, AAP had won 17 seats and was leading in 75 more, taking its total tally to 92. The incumbent Congress was a distant second with 2 victories and 16 leads.
End of INC – SAD – BJP regimes?
In Punjab, SAD, which had a long partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, have formed the government almost in alternate terms. For the first time ever, they faced a challenge from a party that was not “homegrown” but came in promising the “Delhi Model” that it credits its leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. In Punjab, the AAP’s CM face Bhagwant Mann has been photographed visiting the gurdwara in thanksgiving and according to reports incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is likely to meet Punjab Governor Governor Banwarilal Purohit and submit his resignation today.
It is a record of its own, that Punjab’s former Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal are all reportedly trailing in their own constituencies, as is incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi! Parkash Singh Badal’s son and Akali Dal supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal, his cousin Congress minister Manpreet S Badal are also trailing behind AAP candidates reported on-ground media crews.
The AAP is jubilant at this win, and is sharing memes of ‘tears of joy’ on its social media.
AAP family right now: pic.twitter.com/47Ag2qytXL
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 10, 2022
Punjab elections results are a much needed shot in the arm for AAP, which has performed below par in Goa where it was leading in only 2 seats as per data available at around 12:30 PM. The political harvest in Punjab however, is likely to help AAP also project itself as a national party ahead of the general election. Its promise of “corruption free” governance seems to have wooed the voters who have been disgruntled with the Captain Amarinder Singh-led government in the state who they see as “being in cahoots with the Akalis due to its soft-pedalling on charges against the Badals” as reported in the Indian Express. This meant that the voters perceived the Congress and Akalis as “two sides of the same coin.” After Amarinder Singh’s exit the Congress “legacy” was a burden for CM Charanjit Singh Channi. A promise of change was clear in the AAP slogan “Is baar na khaawaange dhokha, Bhagwant Maan te Kejriwal nu dewaange mauka (We won’t get fooled this time, will give a chance to Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal).”
AAP offered “quality government education, health, power and water at cheap rates” and a Rs 1,000 allowance for women. It showcased Delhi as a state where many of these promises “have been delivered.” All of this seems to have resonated with Punjab, especially women, and the youth.
AAP Punjab CM Face सरदार @BhagwantMann जी ने संगरूर में गुरुद्वारा गुर्सागर मस्तुअना साहिब में माथा टेका।
“हमें उम्मीद है कि पंजाब के लोगों ने बदलाव के लिए वोट किया है।” #PunjabElections2022 pic.twitter.com/mjaKO5tlyT
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 10, 2022
Popular as an actor, and a former Member of Parliament, Bhagwant Mann has also been welcomed as the chief ministerial candidate of AAP. He is seen as a son of the soil; a local, who has never been accused of corruption in his career. According to AAP’s Punjab co-in charge Raghav Chadha, “Punjab was misread by the Congress party. Punjab is perhaps the most secular state in India. Punjab doesn’t get divided on caste/religious lines.” Speaking to mediapersons on counting day, he said that AAP has “now become a national party. I see AAP becoming a national force. AAP is going to be the national and natural replacement of the Congress,” and that Arvind Kejriwal may lead the nation one day. In 2017, the Congress, then led by Amarinder Singh won 77 seats, and the AAP had won 20 but some of its MLAs had defected later.
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