Delhi poll results to cast a long shadow on Punjab politics: What next for parties there?

An AAP leader said with Delhi lost, Kejriwal would have Punjab to concentrate on for the next two years till the state goes to polls. “This would certainly lead to interference. The former Delhi CM will control the state government,” the AAP functionary added.

In the Punjab Congress, the AAP’s defeat has sparked a buzz about internal revolt in the AAP and the possibility of a midterm election. State Congress leaders said the party would now have to capitalise on the AAP’s weakened position to regain ground in the state.

Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa told The Indian Express that Kejriwal would now head to Punjab “to become CM of the state”.

“In this context, it is important to refer to a statement made by the state president of AAP in Punjab, Aman Arora, a couple of days back who said a Hindu could also be the CM of Punjab and that the person occupying CM’s office should be capable and should not be seen in the prism of Hindu or Sikh. Coming just before the elections, the results in Delhi, this is an important indication of how the AAP leadership is paving the way for Kejriwal to occupy the CM’s chair in Punjab. A Vidhan Sabha seat in Ludhiana is already vacant after the demise of the sitting AAP MLA and it will be convenient for Kejriwal to fight a by-election,” said Bajwa.

Bajwa predicted an internal power struggle in Punjab and that CM Bhagwant Mann and his supporters would be pitted against the Delhi leadership of the AAP. “There may be widespread defections amongst AAP MLAs in Punjab,” Bajwa claimed.

Congress’s Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said Punjab should prepare for a mid-term election as the AAP would disintegrate following its crushing defeat.

Congress insiders said the party should encourage defections from the AAP, especially if the Delhi loss leads to dissent within the ruling party, and ramp up its grassroots efforts by focusing on rural and urban voters and addressing local issues such as agriculture, unemployment, and drug abuse.

State BJP general secretary Anil Sarin said, “The AAP had its government in Delhi and Punjab and now that Delhi has been wrested by BJP, no doubt it will have the ripple effect in Punjab as well in 2027… otherwise also people of Punjab are fed up of governance of AAP in its three years of performance only. Hence, we will reach out to the masses to convert the vote share into seats.”

He added,” AAP and Kejriwal’s game in Delhi is over and over to Punjab now. Our organisational structure is being reorganised. Booth-level, mandal-level, and district-level bodies will be re-elected by February end and in March, the new state body will be elected. So things will be clear by next month..we are already working at the grassroots and yes, after Delhi polls..we need to be more aggressive.”