Punjab is a state that has always gone against the national mood and this election was no different as the Congress won seven seats and the Aam Aadmi Party won three, with the BJP scoring a blank.
The big headline, however, was the win of the two Independents — radical Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh who is lodged in a jail in Assam, and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, who is the son of the assassin of former PM Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh. They won from Khandoor Sahib and Faridkot, respectively.
The AAP had dreamt of winning 8-9 seats in Punjab this time after the sweep in Assembly elections two years ago, but the unfulfilled promise of Rs 1,000 a month for women seems to have worked against it on the ground. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had to even promise that he will roll out a dole of Rs 1,100 instead soon after the Lok Sabha elections. The issue of drug abuse also remains unaddressed despite big promises and a sense of despair with AAP has set in Punjab in many parts.
People, however, did appreciate the free power rollout by AAP and it managed to win three seats — Sangrur, Anandpur Sahib and Hoshiarpur, up from one in 2019.
The Congress dropped one seat from 2019 to win seven seats this time, along with the seat of Chandigarh which was won by Manish Tiwari.
Fielding good candidates in key seats, like Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in Gurdaspur and state president Amarinder Raja Singh Warring in Ludhiana, proved to be the key. Gurjeet Singh Aujla performed a hat-trick from Amritsar for the Congress, while Dharamvira Gandhi won Patiala for the party after winning the seat for AAP in 2014.
Though the Congress and AAP contested separately in Punjab, they have together contributed a significant 10 seats from Punjab to the INDIA bloc at the Centre.
Amidst the farmer protests and break-up with the Shiromani Akali Dal, the election did not bring any dividend for the BJP in Punjab. Its top candidates like Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Preneet Kaur finished third in Amritsar and Patiala, respectively, while Hans Raj Hans finished fifth in Faridkot. Akali Dal could only the Bathinda seat, where Harsimrat Kaur Badal won for the fourth consecutive time.
The break-up of the BJP-Akali alliance over the farm laws and the farmer protests costed both parties. The BJP always had good urban support while Akali Dal has been strong in the rural areas, which is how they used to win seats in Punjab in the past. Both parties struggled this time in the respective areas that were weak in.
The win of Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa as Independents, however, opens a new chapter of politics in Punjab where the issue of Khalistan and ‘Sikh Pride’ remains relevant. The Bhagwant Mann government has put NSA on Amritpal Singh who has been in a jail far-away in Assam for over a year now, but now gets the right to attend Parliament in Delhi. For AAP, this a wake-up call that its popularity in Punjab could soon fade away if it does not deliver its promises like the cash dole for women.
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