Punjab civic poll results show that all other parties in the fray were losers, one way or the other

Indeed, the Congress has put up a spectacular show in the Punjab civic elections, the results of which were declared recently. The party bagged 1,373 of the 2,218 seats that went to the polls, followed by the Shiromani Aakali Dal (SAD) at 285, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 60, BJP (49) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (five). Independents won 392 seats, almost the total number that all the registered parties — save for the Congress — could amass. Apart from these dry statistics, there are a few interesting takeaways from these results. First and foremost, despite having its own Government in the State and therefore battling the dreadful perception of anti-incumbency, the Congress has proved its unquestionable hold at the grassroots of democracy in Punjab. The win also strengthens Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh’s position vis-à-vis Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been canvassing with the high command for the post of the party’s State unit chief, as seen by the announcement of mission ‘Captain for 2022’. Also, the party’s resounding victory has nipped in the bud whatever little hopes of resurgence the AAP was carrying; the Congress’ worst fears about the latter’s renewed momentum (because of its involvement in the ongoing farmers’ agitation) proved to be unfounded.

The AAP, the main Opposition party in Punjab, came a distant third, far behind the SAD, which is perceived to have lost ground because of its erstwhile partnership with the BJP at the Centre. Despite the AAP’s good showing in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the 2017 Assembly polls, its fortunes had been sliding in the State, but it seemed to have found the surefire formula for bouncing back by actively supporting the farmers’ agitation. The AAP leaders, including party convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, have been quite vocal about the party’s ambition of fielding candidates for the Assembly. The party, which was hoping to put up a much better performance by encashing its backing to the farmers’ agitation, obviously needs to do a lot more if it wants to broaden its electoral footprint. This election was being watched closely since it was the first important election in the State since farmers began their agitation and after the SAD and the BJP parted ways following differences on the controversial farm laws. The results show that the break-up of the partnership resulted in electoral losses for both the parties. The results have made it clear that not just rural, even urban voters are angry with the BJP. While the saffron party has been vanquished in strongholds such as Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Hoshiarpur, the SAD fared poorly in its citadel Bathinda from where former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the MP. There was a lot of anger among farmers, especially the Sikh farmers, against the SAD in the State. They didn’t want to vote for the party as it was in alliance with the BJP earlier and the voters still didn’t see sufficient distance between the two. With this round of battle over, the stage is now set for an interesting Assembly election.