Assembly poll results 2022: How Kejriwal’s party got ‘AAPsolute’ majority in Punjab

As the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) broom swept through Punjab, taking with it present and former chief ministers, old issues of sacrilege and religion, and even cocked a snook at the Congress’ lame attempt to play Dalit politics by appointing the state’s first Dalit chief minister, what has emerged is a resurgent party that has caught the imagination of Punjabis like nothing seen before. It is the launch pad to fulfil its national ambitions that the party was struggling to get on for the last many years; one that has equipped it to assume a larger role for itself in national politics. The AAP, which has won 92 seats in the 117 seat Punjab Assembly, has charted this stupendous victory by capitalising on the long-held desire for ‘change’ in this border state. A vote for a third alternative to the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal binary that the people wanted to break for many years. This is also a party that began its election campaign in an adverse environment, as almost half of its 20 legislators had deserted the party by the end of 2021. Its state leadership was de-motivated and not in fighting form, and many grassroots volunteers had also moved on to other parties. But more than anything else, the party was still finding it hard to shed the ‘outsider’ tag that dogged its every move in Punjab. *** Also Read **_Mann of the Match: It's a Kejripoll in Punjab as Congress and Akalis wiped out in AAP wave that uproots giants_** **_'Congress will never learn', Amarinder Singh hits back after party blames him for Punjab rout_** **_Mann Ki Baat: How AAP's choice for Punjab clicked_** *** Not only did it overcome these shortcomings, but party supremo Arvind Kejriwal turned adversity into a virtue by bringing in his Delhi team that criss-crossed the state to tell the people about the achievements of his government in Delhi: The schools and health infrastructure that the AAP has built in the national capital; the free water and electricity that the poor in Delhi now get. Punjabis, cutting across caste and class barriers, who have lived with an abysmal education and health infrastructure for decades and have to pay through their nose for electricity were enchanted with the Delhi stories. Words like, “We don’t mind if Kejriwal is a non-Punjabi. As long as he can improve things in Punjab we are happy to vote for him”, resounded from the ground throughout the election campaign. “Badlav’ became the catchword. The Congress, which is all but decimated in the state — chief minister Charanjit Channi losing from both the seats of Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur, party president Navjot Singh Sidhu also losing from Amritsar East — had also tried to project itself as an agent of change. The party’s central leadership got rid of its previous chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, in September and appointed Channi as the state’s first Dalit chief minister. Channi’s appointment was hailed as a game changer in Punjab politics. Together with Navjot Sidhu as the PCC chief the Gandhi siblings imagined that the party has positioned itself as a harbinger of ‘change’ with its brand new team. The people did not fall for the gambit. Neither did they fall for the token offering of a Dalit chief minister because Channi was unable to take up any of the burning Dalit issues of Punjab for fear of alienating the upper caste Jat Sikhs and Hindus who resented the appointment of a Dalit as a chief minister in the first place. Channi’s ‘poor man’ identity also took a knock when raids by the Enforcement Directorate on his nephew’s house yielded Rs 8 crore in cash, allegedly money made from illegal sand mining. Soon after election results began pouring in and it became clear that the AAP was sweeping to an astounding victory, one of Kejriwal’s first words were: “People of Punjab have shown that I am not a terrorist, but a Desh bhakt.” He had good reasons to say that because first in the 2017 election when the AAP missed the bus, and now in 2022, he has faced allegations from Opposition parties of being in cahoots with Khalistani elements in foreign countries. In 2017 those allegations stuck on him and panicky Hindu voters shifted from the AAP to cast their votes with the Congress which catapulted the latter to power. This time around when the same allegations were drummed up by the BJP and also the Congress and a fake letter from a Khalistani organisation expressing support for Kejriwal began doing the rounds on social media a few days before polling, there was some dismay in the AAP camp. However, looking at the election results it’s quite clear that the people have not only rejected those allegations but in some places it seems to have had the opposite effect as disgusted people began to question the absurdity of the charge. Also, lost in the surge and scale of the AAP victory is the demise of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Punjab’s home grown party that has always championed the rights and identity of Sikhs. Not only has Prakash Singh Badal , the grand old man of Punjab politics lost his family borough of Lambi, his son and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal has also lost from Jalalabad. Its vote share is down to single digits and the party that once ruled Punjab for ten years has won from just three seats. As the man of the moment, Bhagwant Singh Mann, prepares to assume the chief minister’s position, all of Punjab will watch to see how he conducts himself. The former comedian-turned politician, with a drinking problem, won with a margin of over 50,000 votes from Dhuri. He has to hit the ground running because expectations are high. He has promised that things will change within a month and “Punjabis will get the respect and dignity that they deserve”. Mann , with no administrative experience, will need a lot of help from his colleagues in the Delhi government as the party begins to implement the Delhi model of governance that has catapulted them to power. In the past ‘interference’ from the Delhi team was a sore point with many Punjab AAP leaders and caused many of them to leave the party. As the newbie party moves ahead and expands its footprint through its governance and policies, it will have to and manage differences of opinion and the inevitable conflicts that are likely to arise while running a state as complex as Punjab. Kejriwal and his Punjab team have a mammoth task ahead because they also have to deliver in double quick time and have something to show before Assembly elections to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat later this year. The author is a journalist and author. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.