Triumph of democracy

Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann’s amazing victory in the Sangrur Lok Sabha byelection demonstrates the vibrancy and resilience of Indian democracy. It reaffirms that our polity has space for all kinds of discourse; no viewpoint, no matter how extreme, is anathema to the voter. So sweeping is the power of the franchise that you simply can’t write off any candidate. A veteran politician with a radical outlook has made it to Parliament after duly going through the democratic process of elections. Like 12 fellow Lok Sabha MPs and seven Rajya Sabha members from Punjab, he should contribute to parliamentary debates on vital issues concerning the state.

The voters’ message to the AAP government is loud and clear: Neither test our patience nor take us for granted. The Sangrur verdict is a huge setback for the ruling party, which had recorded a landslide win in the Assembly elections barely three months ago. The public anger and disillusionment, which had propelled Arvind Kejriwal’s party to power, ironically proved to be its undoing in the bypoll. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s bastion crumbled and the anti-incumbency sentiment worked in favour of Simranjit Singh Mann as the electorate again rejected traditional outfits such as the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress and the BJP. These parties direly need to go back to the drawing board and reconnect with the masses in order to stand a chance in Punjab in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The fledgling government’s honeymoon is well and truly over, and it will be a Herculean task for the CM to regain credibility and put things back on track.

Barring Punjab, the byelections in various states followed a predictable course, with the ruling party/alliance coming out on top. The BJP’s juggernaut rolled on in Uttar Pradesh as it wrested the Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats from the Samajwadi Party. All in all, the results have underlined the BJP’s dominance, while the Opposition is looking ill-prepared for the 2024 battle. However, the saffron party can’t afford to rest on its laurels, considering how mercurial and merciless the voters can be at times.

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