AAP shifts focus to governance after Delhi and local polls setback amid growing criticism from BJP, Congress

Out of the 25 wards in Tarn Taran, Independents won 14, the AAP secured eight, and the Congress won three. In Talwara, a tie was recorded between the AAP and the Congress, with each party winning six wards, while the BJP secured just one. In Dera Baba Nanak, the AAP secured a clear majority by winning nine out of 13 wards.

The defeat of AAP MLA’s wife in Tarn Taran follows a similar pattern seen in the December 2024 Ludhiana municipal corporation elections, where Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Prashar Pappi’s wife, Meenu Prashar, lost to the BJP’s Poonam Ratra from Ward 77 by 574 votes. Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi’s wife, Sukhchain Bassi, was also defeated by Congress’s Parminder Kaur in Ward 86 by 168 votes. Gogi, however, passed away in January due to an accidental gunshot under mysterious circumstances, and a bypoll is due in Ludhiana West in the coming months.

Harjeet Singh Sandhu, the BJP’s Tarn Taran district president, criticised the ruling party, stating, “On March 2, the BJP’s poll symbol was missing from the ballot paper. We had lodged a protest, following which a re-poll was ordered. Our candidate couldn’t get many votes in the re-poll, but even the AAP MLA’s wife couldn’t win despite using all the might… even on the re-poll day.”

Notably, the BJP candidate in the re-polled ward secured only 29 votes, though the party stood second in eight out of 25 wards. Defending the results, Neel Garg, senior spokesperson of the AAP, said, “We shouldn’t look at it in a way that AAP MLA’s wife lost… but in another way that polls were so fair and hence an independent won. Had you ever seen during previous governments’ rule that any MLA’s wife or a relative had lost? AAP believes in democratic values and respects the masses’ verdict.”

A series of electoral setbacks for AAP

AAP’s struggles in local elections extend beyond Tarn Taran. In the December municipal corporation elections, the party failed to secure majorities in Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Phagwara. Even in Sangrur, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s hometown, the AAP was unable to get a decisive mandate in the municipal council elections in December. However, despite these challenges, the AAP had its own mayors in various municipal corporations by securing support from Independents or when councillors from opposite parties switched to the AAP.

BJP leaders have used these results to criticise the AAP’s electoral strategy. “The question is not about successfully making mayors in municipal corporations after lots of efforts, but the bigger question is that ruling party MLAs are first securing tickets for their family members and later are not even able to win from a municipal council or municipal corporation ward,” said BJP’s Sandhu.

Amid growing criticism and following its poor performance in the Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP has intensified its focus on governance in Punjab. The party has launched initiatives such as weekly public grievance meetings in Bathinda, where the AAP’s district team sits at the circuit house every Monday from 11 am to 4 pm to address public concerns.

“Monday will be the fourth Monday to sit in the circuit house, and every Monday, over 120 persons have been coming with various issues related to the police department, revenue, or other departments. Many people sometimes don’t even know the basic procedure to get their work done. So, we are helping them out. We plan to make a minister/MLA also sit on a Monday in the coming days. This is a way to hear the resentments of the masses if they have any issues with government departments. War against drugs, elimination of corruption from offices. The Punjab government is trying hard to improve general governance, and masses are happy with all this,” said Garg.

However, BJP leaders have questioned the AAP’s sudden shift in focus. “After losing in Delhi, now former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is getting active in Punjab and giving a message that he is the only messiah of Punjab. Where was the war against drugs and other reforms in the past three years?” said the BJP’s national general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa during a recent visit to Chandigarh.

Congress leaders have also targeted the AAP over its governance record. In the last week, Bhupesh Baghel, the newly appointed All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of the Punjab Congress, remarked, “Bhagwant Mann has been the Chief Minister of Punjab for three years. During his tenure, the drug trade continued to flourish, yet he did nothing. But now, what magical wand has he suddenly found that will make Punjab drug-free in just three months?”

Despite these challenges, the AAP still holds a strong legislative position in Punjab, having won 92 out of 117 seats in the 2022 elections. Following bypolls in July and November 2024, the party’s tally increased to 93, with another bypoll expected in the coming months. However, the party’s recent electoral setbacks and increasing opposition criticism suggest that the AAP must not only work on governance but also reconnect with voters at the grassroots if it hopes to maintain its political dominance in Punjab.