AAP’s report card

Drugs, corruption, law and order — the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has a lot on its plate. Having completed three years in power, the ruling party is patting itself on the back for a job well done, while Opposition parties are claiming that it has failed on all fronts and betrayed the people of the state. The truth lies somewhere in between. A sweeping mandate in the 2022 elections had helped AAP blow away well-entrenched parties such as the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP. Public anger over the disappointing performance of previous governments raised hopes of a new dawn. Starting from scratch, AAP has found it hard to turn the tide. The drug menace continues to eat into the vitals of the border state. The Bhagwant Singh Mann government has upped the ante against the scourge, but its grand goal of making the state drug-free within three months looks unachievable.

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The campaign against corruption has also been intensified, partly in view of the graft taint that dented the party’s image in Delhi. Taking a tough stand, Mann made striking revenue officials fall in line after they objected to the Vigilance Bureau’s action against some of their colleagues. The CM has also not shied away from confronting farmers, a key vote bank that successive state governments have been unwilling to antagonise. It’s a big gamble that can have a bearing on AAP’s prospects in the 2027 polls, especially in the rural belt.

The stinging loss in Delhi has prompted AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal to focus his attention on Punjab. Both Kejriwal and Mann know that they can’t afford to put a foot wrong from here on. However, a spate of bomb and grenade attacks has compounded the government’s problems. The coming two years are likely to be no less challenging for AAP, which will need loads of resilience to weather one storm after another.