Punjab on
yellow high tide of optimism as Bhagwant Mann takes over as Aam Aadmi Chief
Minister
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
Bhagwant
Singh Mann today took over as the Aam Aadmi chief minister of Punjab in the
backdrop of high tide of rare optimism after decimating what was perceived to
be the well-entrenched political elite in this border state whose electoral
dynamics was associated with wheat-paddy rotation.
It is for
the first time that Punjab has diversified and that too with such vigour.
It was the
first time that after having been sworn in, that a chief minister raised the
slogan of Inquilab Zindabad associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his
associate revolutionaries.
Bhagat
Singh, in one of his writings, has explained the meaning of Inquilab Zindabad whose
English version is Log Live Revolution. This slogan is rooted in pro-people
ideology.
Yellow
colour too is associated with revolutionaries although Bhagat Singh himself
used to wear white turban which was the common practice in that region that now
is in Pakistan.
This is major
departure from the past since 1947.
Khatkar
Kalan, the ancestral village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh who was born in Lyallpur
district where the family had later shifted, today turned into sea of yellow
turbans and dupattas.
The message
that emanated from Khatkar Kalan was that Punjab was changing, at least going
by the optics.
When Parkash
Singh Badal took over as the chief minister at the Punjab cricket association
stadium in Mohali in 1997 riding on the wave of a massive mandate of 93 seats
to the Akali Dal-BJP alliance, the expectations were high. The colour that
dominated the stadium at that time was the traditional blue of the Akalis.
Punjab had come out of a long shadow of militancy and brutal state repression.
However,
Badal failed to come up to the expectations of the people within two years as
his government failed even to take off.
Now Punjab
has given similar mandate to the Aam Aadmi Party that had emerged out of the
anti-corruption movement in 2012. It is for the first time that this party has
been entrusted with this responsibility in a state as Delhi is a semi-state where
it is already in power.
Punjab is
the right platform for the party to expand its footprint and pose an
alternative to the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
AAP has now
started its journey to replace the Congress in the opposition space as this party
continues to shrink.
Bhagwant
Mann government in Punjab would have to present itself as a model state in the
next few months to facilitate the expansion of AAP in neghbouring Himachal
Pradesh going to election by year end. The other state that AAP is eyeing is
Gujarat whose now forgotten development model was propagated as game-changing.
Punjab is a
scenario different from other states, like its political dynamics.
One would
come across the most modern houses in the country side but that village might
be lacking in basic facility of good quality drinking water. This is just one
example.
Punjab is a
high consumption state by the state government is “poor”.
Punjab needs
a major push at empowerment of people by boosting its economy. This is a long
term processing but it is the sincere beginning that is important.
Both the
Akali Dal-BJP alliance and the Congress during their respective rule turned
Punjab into a mafia state.
A leader new
in the field can always be expected to come up with out of the box ideas rather
than the routine that this state has been experiencing.
It is time
to induct professionals rather than continuing dependence on bureaucracy that
lacks in modern ideas and idiom.
Yellow is
associated with revolutionaries and hence change. Mann has to implement the
dream of Shaheed Bhagat Singh in his own state.
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