The biggest take away from the results of the five Assembly elections is the Aam Aadmi Party win in Punjab. While Punjab has always been the turf for the Congress and the Akali Dal, the Aam Aadmi Party, till now considered largely a regional party has made inroads into the national politics.
While Congress needs to introspect what went wrong, here’s a few things it can learn from the Aam Aadmi Party which played a very smart game in Punjab. AAP on Thursday clinched massive victory with Bhagwant Mann all set to form the government in the state.
The AAP tsunami washed away many political bigwigs including five-time Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal losing his bastion Lambi and incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi losing his both seats, Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur. Congress rebel Captain Amarinder Singh too could not retain his Patiala seat and lost to the AAP candidate.
Not just this, Navjot Singh Sidhu also lost the high-profile seat of Amritsar East. Sidhu thrice went to Parliament from Amritsar on a BJP ticket and once to the Punjab Assembly, as the Congress candidate from Amritsar East.
Read | Congress loses its last big bastion Punjab, here’s what went wrong for the party
What went right for AAP?
1. Punjab endorsed the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi model of governance which focuses on health and education, better civic infrastructure, services for the poor and cheap power and water supply.
2. Congress infighting gave an advantage to AAP for winning Punjab. Congress went into a self-destruction mode, replacing its Chief Minister just four months ahead of the Assembly elections.
3. Captain Amarinder Singh’s quitting the Congress went in favour of AAP. Amarinder Singh was a credible face of the party and his leaving left a void among voters who then drifted from Congress.
4. Congress and Akalis were accused of being hand-in-glove and Amarinder Singh government did little on corruption charges against the Badals and drug lords. So voters gave chance to another party.
5. AAP got massive support from the youth and women voters. Kejriwal promised Rs 1000 to be transferred to the bank accounts of women above 18 years in the state if the party came to power.
