The problems of drugs, anti-incumbency and maladministration have led to the ousting of the Akalis from Punjab. They were ruling the state for the last 10 years.
The Shiromai Akali Dal (SAD), which had won 56 seats in the last Assembly elections in 2012, has been reduced to just 15 seats in these elections, while the Congress, which had got 46 seats in 2012, has got 77 seats this time around in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.
“Punjab was facing a severe anti-incumbency and the 10-year-long mal-administration and the exploitation of the youth through drugs have cost the Badals this election. We will work for the youth of Punjab and bring Punjab out of the menace of drugs, which the state has been reeling under for the last 10 years,” a Congress spokesperson from Punjab said.
BJP, SAD’s alliance partner in Punjab, also had accepted the fact that it was facing strong anti-incumbency in the state. It was evident as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP’s star campaigner, did not focus on the state as much as he did on other states like Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
“We were aware that there was a massive anti-incumbency and the anger against drug problem in Punjab and we are not surprised by the result. The party’s top leadership was made aware of these factors well in advance,” confessed a top BJP functionary who had been active in Punjab.
The problem of drugs was one of the major poll issues in Punjab and the Opposition had alleged that Akali Dal leaders were helping drug dealers. The strategy seems to have worked.
A top leader of the Akali Dal, Bikram Singh Majithia, who was directly named by the Opposition party for the drug menance, has once again secured his seat, while both the Badals—Sukhbir Singh Badal as well as his father Prakash Singh Badal—have also won.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which debuted in the Punjab Assembly elections this time and was hoping to secure a comfortable majority, managed to get only 20 seats.
AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had addressed around 100 rallies in Punjab, had raked up issues like the drug menace and poor administration of the Akalis, but his party failed to garner votes on the expected lines.
“We were not expecting such a bad result from Punjab. We were hopeful that we would be forming our government there. But we accept what has been delivered by the people of Punjab,” a dejected AAP functionary said.
“We will introspect on what went wrong and what worked against us in Punjab,” he added.