Legislative assembly elections in India are a torrid affair, filled with more drama than one would find in films catering to the masala genre of the Bollywood poster. As we enter into the third year of this pandemic, the Indian subcontinent once again embarks on the tumultuous trek of conducting legislative elections in the 7 states of Gujrat, Manipur, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and finally Punjab.
The political currents in present-day Punjab are mainly dominated by the Indian National Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). The helm of the state’s administration has often been engaged in uproarious political battles with various pressure groups within the state. The years of the insurgency in the 1980s for example, disrupted the elections many times.
The political storm in the state has been brewing with farmers’ demonstrations on an unprecedented scale, the Akali Dal’s abandonment of the BJP, followed by the change of chief ministers, and, most recently, the uproar surrounding an alleged security breakdown during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. It seems all this will come to a head with the up and coming elections this year.
The legislative elections of this term are all set to be held on the 20th of February 2022 and are to elect the 117 members of the 16th Punjab Legislative Assembly. The results will be announced on the 10th of March 2022. The present incumbent government of the state is of the Indian National Congress, with Charanjit Singh Channi presiding over as the chief minister of the state. The main opposition is put forward by the BJP+Punjab Lok+Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) alliance and AAP.
source: flickr.com
The Congress party’s term over the past five years has not been all smooth sailing and was rife with internal crises within the congress with Captain Amrindar Singh resigning after four years due to clashes with party leadership.
Moreover, issues like the internal rifts within the Congress party high command and between Punjab unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Channi along with the lynchings in Amritsar and Kapurthala have definitely chipped at the parities grip over the state.
That being said, despite Captain Amarinder Singh’s dramatic ouster as Punjab Chief Minister, the Punjab Congress appears to have an ascendancy over the other parties in the state. Bringing Charanjit Singh Channi as the state’s first Dalit Chief Minister as an acceptable Dalit face has bolstered the parties appeal.
The BJP government at power in the centre passed the controversial farm laws in September of 2020 which led to farmer protests across the state of Punjab and eventually snowballed into a massive demonstration that went on for a year and created a huge amount of discontent within the state and served as a blow to the hardline stance of the central government, who finally was forced to repeal the said laws in November of 2021. The Congress which had expressed its disapproval of the laws, hopes to ride this wave of dissatisfaction in the coming assembly elections while the BJP, a major contender from the opposition, aspires to convert the repeal into a pro-people movement.
The NDA, though, has the support of former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his freshly created Punjab Lok Congress. They look to derail the Congress by citing issues of law and order along with their nation wide appeal through the larger than life image they have created of Modi.
Buoyed by their recent victory in the Chandigarh civic polls, the next big contender, the Aam Aadmi Party looks to uproot both the old guards of the Congress and BJP with a promise of a fresh start as it embarks on a political journey without history in the state, the Delhi model of administration and a Sikh Chief Minister. What sets this election’s chaotic nature apart is the existence of problems within each party. For the first time since 1996, Akali Dal is contesting elections without the support of the BJP. The former too appears to be in the hopes of redeeming their image in the aftermath of the removal of farm laws, which have significantly weakened the BJP’s standing. Congress, which came to power with a huge majority in 2017, has not been successful in keeping its calm in the wake of Amarinder Singh’s departure from the party. Channi, a Dalit politician who wants to appear as if he has deep roots in the community, has been kept busy throughout his brief tenure as state chairman.
A History Major from Jesus and Mary College, forever fascinated by culture, history and politics. A wannabe rebel with way too many causes to yell about.
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