AAP faces uphill task to retain votes in Punjab
Ruchika M Khanna
Chandigarh, May 31
The Lok Sabha poll in Punjab will be a litmus test not just for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but also for the face of their election campaign, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
We will surely win all 13 seats. I urge party volunteers to keep your spirits and energy high. ‘Punjab banega Hero, Iss baar 13-0’. — Bhagwant Mann, Punjab CM
Having been in power for over two years in the state, the party which got a vote share of 42.01 per cent in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections, has set a target to win all the 13 Lok Sabha seats. However, retaining the 2022 vote share will be an uphill task, amidst a resurgent Opposition that has led to a multi-cornered contest on most seats. Had the AAP and the Congress gotten together in Punjab, as both are partners in the INDI alliance at national level, it would have been a win-win situation.
The ruling party in the state has, however, put its best foot forward, by fielding five of its ministers — Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Dr Balbir Singh, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Gurmeet Singh Khudian — besides three of its MLAs Amansher Singh Shery Kalsi, Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar and Ashok Parashar Pappi.
In constituencies, where they did not have a big face, they weaned away candidates from other parties- Pawan Tinu from SAD, Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal from Congress and Gurpreet Singh GP from Congress. Only two first-time candidates have been fielded by the party- its chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang and actor and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s close friend Karamjit Anmol.
