Can AAP be revived in Punjab after massive win in Delhi, space contiues to exist for third alternative

The spectacular victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi has triggered the speculations about its likely impact in Punjab where the party had debuted in 2014 Lok Sabha elections by electing four MPs. The party seemed to be forming the government in this border state in the run up to the 2017 Assembly elections but fell victim to the machinations and wily politics of its over-ambitious and opportunist leaders, besides tactical blunders.

The party managed to occupy the space of the main opposition replacing the grand old Akali Dal but then committed harakari.

The likely impact of the Delhi victory would be known in the coming days.

However, the Punjab political discourse is completely different from that in Delhi where AAP managed to turn the fight non-ideological in the face of massive onslaught by the Bharatiya Janata Party that gave priority to its divisive and hate agenda.

The AAP managed to wipe out the Hindutva brigade at the time when the Modi government has been aggressively continuing with its majoritarian agenda. Its hate campaign was also designed accordingly. Arvind Kejriwal refused to fight on BJP turf and stuck to his own agenda.

Kejiwal managed to introduce non-ideological campaign while projecting himself as Hindu family man committed to his agenda of his development that was backed by his performance during the last two years of his government. The Modi government at the centre has been under attack for mismanaging the economy and diverting the attention from issues concerning daily life of the people. The majoritarian discourse is threat to the edifice of democracy itself.

The likely impact of the Delhi polls on Punjab has to be seen in this framework of the fight in which the Congress did not matter at all.

The issue is whether Kejriwal would now take clear stand on issues that he side-stepped during the elections? He might have to in case the party has to expand its footprint outside Delhi. Punjab continues to be the fertile ground despite its failings.

There is little sign of the Congress government in the state improving its performance. This is a remote-controlled government that otherwise is on contract. The end result is non-governance. Dissatisfaction can be gauged everywhere and in every section; one has just to talk to the people at the grassroots.

The Akali Dal has only now started showing some signs of coming into action but has been hit hard by revolt. The albatross of Bargari sacrilege that continues to hang around the neck of the Shiromani Akali Dal is a separate issue. Capt Amarinder Singh might use it strategically at the appropriate time against Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. His father Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister in 2015 when the incidents relating to sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib took place. Sukhbir was the deputy chief minister.

More than the sacrilege, it is the way the Badals confronted those seeking justice that angered the Sikhs. As the Sikhs came out on roads, the Badals decided to confront the protesters by organising party conferences. The Badals resorted to the same strategy when the Sikh organisations launched indefinite dharna in 2018 at Bargari demanding action against culprits from Capt Amarinder Singh government.

It is for this reason that the space for third alternative continues to exist in Punjab.

The political discourse in Punjab is different from rest of the states in India. This is the state that is dominated by the Sikhs who are a second biggest minority in the country after Muslims. The Sikh institutions are an important dimension of this discourse.  Punjab has a long history of struggles, both before and after partition of India in 1947.

Arvind Kejriwal had a very bitter experience in Punjab during election campaign when he stayed just for one night at a house that belonged to a former militant. The Hindu support base of AAP distanced from the party.

One of the main issues in Punjab is the lack of an effective leader whom the people can trust. There is none in the party at present.

The people in Punjab continue to wait for that Deliverer.  This has been a long wait.