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What is helping the AAP create a buzz in Punjab
The AAP, which fell way short of its own expectations and claims despite initial euphoria in the 2017 assembly elections and then slipped badly in the subsequent parliamentary polls, was in disarray in Punjab till about a year ago due to constant internal bickering and desertions
Bhagwant Mann is in the political race of his life. The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) chief ministerial candidate is crisscrossing the state with the slogan ‘Ik mauka Bhagwant Mann te Kejriwal nu’ (Give a chance to Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal), drawing good crowds at his roadshows and rallies at most places.
But, more than the number of people at these events, the talk of change and undercurrent of support for the party, helmed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, has left everyone, including the rivals, befuddled.
The AAP, which fell way short of its own expectations and claims despite initial euphoria in the 2017 assembly elections and then slipped badly in the subsequent parliamentary polls, was in disarray in Punjab till about a year ago due to constant internal bickering and desertions.
Change is the buzzword
The party leadership, however, gradually got its act together in the past few months and presented itself as a ‘viable alternative’ to the two traditional players, the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Both parties have taken turns to rule the state, but patience has been wearing thin with them over unfulfilled promises and corruption allegations. The AAP is trying to tap into this resentment with the promise of bringing change to get an edge in the perception battle.
The strategy appears to be working, according to the anecdotal evidence from the ground, in Malwa, which accounts for 69 of the 117 seats, and some pockets of Majha (25 seats) and Doaba (23) regions, firing up especially those in the 20-40 age group. Of the 20 seats it won in the last assembly elections, the party got 18 in Malwa, two in Doaba, and drew a blank in Majha. “Log kehnde hain jharoo pherange (People say they will sweep away everyone with the broom, the party’s election symbol). They had no option earlier, but have the third alternative, and are saying that they want to change this time,” says Mann, claiming support in all three regions.
Freebies, CM-face propel AAP
The poll race for the 117 seats is crowded with three solo players and two alliances, but the AAP has got traction with its populist poll promises. The party had a head-start in announcing freebies by promising ₹1,000 per month to women, free power, free medical treatment, and free education. The declaration of Mann, a tireless campaigner known for his quick wit and sarcasm, as the CM candidate is also being seen as a plus, especially in Malwa.
Ashutosh Kumar, professor of political science at Panjab University, Chandigarh, said the AAP’s unique selling proposition is that it has not been in power in Punjab before. “Another related factor is that the party has a relatively clean image. With anger against other parties, all these things, along with the track record of providing free power and water in Delhi, are working to its advantage,” he argued.
A Congress leader also said the talk of change is on the boil, particularly among the youth, and no one has any idea how long it is going to last. “Traditional support bases of Congress and Akalis are largely intact, but those who were undecided or are fence-sitters have shed their neutrality and backing the AAP,” he added.
Congress, Akalis step up attacks
Aware of the challenge, the Congress, the SAD, and the BJP have escalated their attacks on the AAP, citing the turncoats fielded by it to debunk the promise of ‘change’. Out of the AAP’s 117 candidates, at least 40 are defectors, mostly from the Congress or the SAD. In Ludhiana district, seven of the 14 party candidates have come from Congress and other parties.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal is calling them a “bunch of opportunists and turncoats” in meeting after meeting, whereas chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi is also repeatedly asking the AAP what “change” it plans to bring with defectors.
Kejriwal has also been targeted over allegations of supporting separatists, while barbs are hurled at him with his rivals, particularly Channi, calling him an “outsider” who is “controlling” his party.
The Delhi leadership’s control has been a sensitive issue with the AAP as half a dozen of its MLAs led by senior leader Sukhpal Khaira, who is now back in the Congress, had rebelled three years ago. While it has handled the constant barrage of broadsides well so far, all eyes will be on whether the pro-change sentiment on the ground translates into votes for the party.
The AAP was hampered by the lack of an organisational setup in the last assembly elections. Though the party has tried to put in place the structure at the booth, block, and district levels in the past one year or so, it is still at a nascent stage and could have its limitations in a high-stakes multi-cornered contest.
