Punjab verdict today: AAPsurge or hung assembly?

The verdict of the 1.54 crore electors, who exercised their franchise on February 20, will decide the winner of the high-stakes multi-cornered contest in which the ruling Congress is seeking to retain power, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has emerged as a doughty contender

Chandigarh: The nearly three-week long agonising wait for the new government in Punjab will be over on Thursday with the counting of votes for the 117 assembly seats in the state.

The nearly three-week long agonising wait for the new government in Punjab will be over on Thursday with the counting of votes for the 117 assembly seats in the state.

The verdict of the 1.54 crore electors, who exercised their franchise on February 20, will decide the winner of the high-stakes multi-cornered contest in which the ruling Congress is seeking to retain power, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has emerged as a doughty contender.

The national and regional aspirations of three solo parties, AAP, Congress, and the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, and the two alliances led by the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP, will also hinge on the outcome.

The Congress, AAP and SAD had named incumbent chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Bhagwant Mann and Sukhbir Singh Badal, respectively, as their chief ministerial candidates.

The trio’s political sway and standing is also on test along with that of three former chief ministers Capt. Amarinder Singh, Parkash Singh Badal and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.

Counting of votes will begin at 8am at 117 centres in 66 locations. Most exit polls have forecast a massive victory for the AAP with the Congress as a distant runner-up and the Akalis again straggling in the third position, but a few have also predicted a “hung assembly” with neck-and-neck fight.

The AAP, which appears confident of making the most of the “desire for change” sweeping across large parts of the state, has termed the exit polls as a reflection of the mood on the ground.

“People have overwhelmingly voted for change, rejecting traditional parties Congress and SAD which have ruled the state by turns,” leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema and sitting MLA Aman Arora said on Wednesday, predicting more than 80 seats for the party.

If these predictions hold true, not only will it be a fillip for the AAP’s national ambitions to become an alternative to the BJP but the party, whose government in Delhi has limited powers, will also get a “full state” to implement its governance blueprint and showcase it in other states.

Cong, Akalis dismiss exit polls

Both Congress and Akalis have dismissed the exit polls, citing the 2017 elections when a massive win was predicted for the AAP but it fell way short of the projected seats’ tally.

While several Congress leaders, including cabinet ministers, have been insisting that their party would secure a majority, a few others are not ruling out the possibility of a hung House and the likelihood of a post-poll alliance with the AAP.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has stated that his party, along with alliance partner BSP, will cross the majority mark of 59 seats and form the government. He also urged the Election Commission to ban the exit polls. BJP and Capt. Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress are counting on a hung house, claiming that leaders of the Congress and AAP were in touch with them.

Navjot Sidhu calls CLP meeting today

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu has convened the first meeting of all the elected MLAs at the party office in Chandigarh on Thursday after the declaration of the election results.

“It has been decided that the first Congress Legislative Party meeting will be held on 10th March at PPCC Office (Congress Bhawan, Sector 15) at 5 pm. All newly elected @INCPunjab MLAs are requested to kindly attend,” Sidhu tweeted after a meeting with All India Congress Committee observer Ajay Maken, Punjab affairs incharge Harish Chaudhary and spokesperson Pawan Khera here.

The newly elected legislators’ meeting is being seen in the Congress circles as a “pre-emptive move to thwart poaching attempts.

“The plan is to keep the flock together in case we do not get a majority and there is a hung assembly,” a senior party leader said, indicating that the newly elected members could be taken to neighbouring Rajasthan in such a scenario.