Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann had raised a question at a meeting in Malwa during the campaign for this year’s Punjab Assembly elections. “Will you hold a broom (broom, symbol of you) or a sword (sword)?” He had asked while reacting strongly to a section of right-wing religious leaders alleging disrespect for Sikh sentiments. But at that time Punjab had responded unanimously by raising the ‘broom’ and sending the AAP to the assembly with a thumping majority.
After a little over 100 days as the hardline leader of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), the “broom versus sword” debate has returned. Simranjit Singh Mannu Sangrur is all set to take his seat in the Lok Sabha after a dramatic victory in the bypolls. The 77-year-old former IPS officer has repeatedly supported separatist propaganda in the past and advocated the need for a separate Khalistan state.
Ironically, Mann’s fortunes have taken a hit with the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala and the road accident death of controversial actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who was accused of the Republic Day violence in Delhi last year. The farmer protested and a case was registered for inciting the crowd to hoist the Nishan Saheb (Sikh flag) at the Red Fort that day. While Moose Wala had joined the Congress before his death, the controversial topics on which he based his songs were used by right-wing leaders to incite anti-establishment sentiments in the by-elections.
Killing of mooseAnalysts, who chose topics that primarily addressed youth anger, were one of the reasons that resulted in the defeat of Mann, who had otherwise lost five assembly elections and one Lok Sabha election.
Not only Mann, but the Shiromani Akali Dal, which finds itself on the verge of extinction after several electoral defeats, stirred up sentiments. In fact, SAD leader Sukhbir Badal had proposed a joint candidate to take on AAP in the by-elections. The Akali Dal had urged Mann to support the candidature of Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana, sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who was convicted in the Beant Singh murder case, and the Akali Dal has been pressing for the release of prisoners like her, who died in 25. spent more than years in prison. Mann turned down the offer at the last minute, but the noise made by right-wing Sikh Panthic leaders turned against the AAP.
What didn’t help AAP was its failure to work on the law and order front. The killing of Moose Wala not only exposed the party’s claims of governance but also intensified the cult politics.
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