The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) high-pitched poll campaign failed to strike a chord with voters in Punjab, while it could not win a single seat in Goa. The party, which had high hopes of victory in Punjab, will now face an immediate challenge in the upcoming municipal elections in Delhi.
The AAP had fielded its candidates in these two States with the expectation that its performance would help catapult the party onto the national political landscape.
In an interaction with the media, Mr. Kejriwal had last month said that after the Punjab elections, the party would focus on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where polls are due later this year.
“We accept the people’s mandate. All the volunteers worked hard. Our struggle will continue,” said the AAP chief, who had camped for over a month in Punjab in the hope that the party could increase its electoral base following an impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the State.
AAP leaders had hit Punjab’s streets almost a year ago, with the objective of repeating their victory in Delhi. All the groundwork indeed had its impact with the party attracting almost 24% vote share, trailing the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) by just about 1%. However, there was a mismatch between its vote share and the number of seats it won.
The Congress’ chief ministerial candidate, Captain Amarinder Singh, termed the AAP a “fairweather storm, which is now over”.
Leadership deficit
Analysing the party’s performance, Pramod Kumar, director at the Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh, said a leadership deficit and the absence of a transformational agenda had hit the AAP. “AAP’s prospects of spreading its foothold nationally have taken a beating.”
Mr. Kumar said: “In the absence of a local leadership in AAP, people have possibly favoured the Congress, which had announced Capt. Amarinder Singh as it chief ministerial candidate…Mr. Kejriwal steered AAP’s campaign, but it seems people desired a ‘local face’. Also, the perception that had developed among the people [after Sucha Singh Chhotepur episode] is that the AAP is being run by ‘remote’ from Delhi, which seems to have cost them.”
Traditionally, politics in Punjab has been dominated by two political parties — the ruling SAD-BJP combine and the Congress. However, in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the AAP won four out of 13 seats and a 24% vote share in Punjab, establishing itself as third force in State politics.
“With AAP garnering 24% vote share in the 2014 parliamentary elections, it should have at least won 33 seats in these Assembly polls, but if that is not happening, then it means it has gone down from their 2014 position,” said Mr. Kumar.
‘Time for review’
Expressing disappointment, AAP leader and Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra said the party did not expect such results in Punjab and Goa. “It is time for review.”
The scene was altogether different in Goa, where the AAP had set out to give a tough fight to the ruling BJP and the Congress. While the political observers were initially of the view that it would make a mark, the party could garner just about 6%, yielding no seats.
Published - March 11, 2017 11:31 pm IST
