Since the last assembly election in 2017, Punjab’s politics has changed significantly, though the issues that strangled the state continue to exist. Unemployment, local drug abuse, the mafia controlling the wine and sand trade, agricultural debt, and depleting groundwater are among the haunting problems. In 2017, under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress party came to power with a thumping majority, winning 77 of the 117 assembly seats. The election saw a triangular fight with a new entrant, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), entering the political arena of the state. Congress promises then included punishing the main culprits for sacrilege Guru Granth Sahib and incidents of police firing in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015, and cancellation of ‘faulty’ power purchase agreements, but it could only make limited progress on burning issues. Captain Amarinder was accused of being soft on the Badal family, which ran the previous government and controlled the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Congress kicked him out In an attempt to salvage his fortune in September 2021, but ended up with chaos at the top. Taking a parochial path, the party’s state president Navjot Singh Sidhu undermines the authority of the party and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who has grown in stature, though his promotion was the result of coincidental circumstances.
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Congress is stuck in a bind. The rise of Mr. Channi, The first Dalit to become the Chief Minister of the statehas increased its support among the community which is about a third of the population. But this may upset the Jat Sikhs who dominate the power structure of Punjab. Hindus who largely voted for Congress are also uncomfortable with this cult – Sikhism – Politics is being championed by Mr. Sidhu. Akali Dal is focusing its attention cult The agenda however remains largely listless; The tough challenge may be in motivating significant support to distort the alliance between Captain Amarinder’s Punjab Lok Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the backdrop of farmers’ year-long protest against three agriculture laws, 22 agricultural unions have joined hands together to contest the elections. AAP is trying to sell its ‘Delhi Model of Governance’ and this time its claim for power looks serious. it’s raining promises, which includes a monthly grant of ₹1,000 to all women voters above 18 if elected to power. The SAD has a low reputation and the Congress is its biggest enemy in the state. All that and AAP’s ability to feel the pulse of the voters has put Punjab in the open.
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