Shot in the arm for AAP rank and file
The Aam Aadmi Party’s resounding victory in the bypolls bolstered the party rank and file in the midst of its five-year term. The party won three of the four Assembly seats that went to bypolls, albeit with a little help from SAD supporters.
AAP took away the three seats from the principal Opposition party, the Congress, and increased its tally in the Vidhan Sabha to 94, inching closer to its ambitious dream of having 100 MLAs in the 117-member House. The victory also meant that the ruling party has been able to shed the narrative of anti-incumbency starting to play out in the middle of its five-year term.
Result semi-final for Delhi polls: Kejriwal
People have chosen AAP for the second time, which shows that it is doing good work. Results are not just significant for Punjab, but also for Delhi. I would call them the semi-final for Delhi. — Arvind Kejriwal, AAP national convener
Will fulfil all promises: Mann
People have reposed their faith in us. We will prioritise fulfilling all promises made to them during these byelections. — Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Chief Minister
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who met in Delhi to celebrate the victory, said people had voted for the pro-people policies of their party. Kejriwal said the Punjab bypoll results were the semi-finals before the Delhi elections, which were due early next year.
Sandeep Pathak, the architect of the win, had divided all party MLAs in four teams and was micro-managing the campaign, while Chief Minister Mann’s aggressive campaigning saw the party continue to woo voters. Kejriwal also campaigned in the state for three days. The only spoiler has been the loss of Barnala, an Assembly seat that falls in the party’s citadel of the Sangrur Parliamentary constituency. AAP lost Barnala by 2,157 votes, mainly because of its rebel Gurdeep Singh Batth, who contested as an Independent and managed to get 16,899 votes.
At the beginning of the campaign, it was widely believed within the ruling party that they would win Chabbewal and Barnala easily, if they “managed” Batth in Barnala. While the Chabbewal campaign and strategy was designed mostly by the previous Congress MLA and now AAP MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer was leading the campaign for his friend Harinder Singh Dhaliwal in Barnala. After Dhaliwal’s defeat, tongues have started wagging about wranglings in AAP that led to Batth contesting the polls as Independent and denting the party’s electoral prospects.
With the wives of Congress stalwarts Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Jatinder Kaur and Amrita Warring, being fielded from Dera Baba Nanak and Gidderbaha, respectively, initially it was being said that AAP did not have a chance on these seats. But aggressive campaigning, including by AAP newly elected state chief Aman Arora in Gidderbaha and NRI affairs minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal, state working president Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi and party general secretary Jagroop Singh Sekhwan in Dera Baba Nanak, coupled with the local Akali leaders in these constituencies asking their supporters to vote for AAP, helped the party secure impressive win on the two seats.
Result semi-final for Delhi polls: Kejriwal
People have chosen AAP for the second time, which shows that it is doing good work. Results are not just significant for Punjab, but also for Delhi. I would call them the semi-final for Delhi. —Arvind Kejriwal, aap national convener
Will fulfil all promises: Mann
People have reposed their faith in us. We will prioritise fulfilling all promises made to them during these byelections. —Bhagwant Mann, chief minister
Cong voter base up in 2 segments: Warring
The Congress voter base has risen in Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak. The situation would have been different if the SAD had contested the polls. —Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, punjab congress chief
