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AAP sweep: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had first entered the Punjab poll arena in the 2012 Lok Sabha elections, went on to become the main opposition after the 2017 Assembly elections and has now swept the state with a record 92 seats, the best ever performance by any party after the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966. It signifies a shift away from the two traditional rivals, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal. Increasingly, people had begun to see them as having let the state drift.
Vote for development: Punjab, which has been seeing a decline in its per capita income over the last two decades, largely voted for the Delhi model of development promised by AAP. The discerning voter now wants a party that can promise him quality education, health and employment, not mere freebies.
Drubbing for SAD: Voters sent a stern message to the oldest party of Punjab, SAD, which celebrated 100 years in 2020. The message is clear: shape up or perish. Once a cadre-driven party known for its morchas and agitations for the people, SAD had turned into a family party presided over by the Badals, both of whom lost.
No Dalit consolidation: Much of the poll narrative was centred on Dalits, who form 32% of Punjab’s population. It was said the Congress decision to choose a Dalit CM in Charanjit Singh Channi would consolidate their votes. But Channi lost both his seats. And Dalits did not vote en masse.
No to politics of religion: For long, Punjab voters were influenced by deras and godmen. Although political parties wooed deras this time too, their writ did not run. The issue of sacrilege, which held much sway in 2017, did not cut any ice either. Punjab voters did not let religion influence them.
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