Khalistan
protagonist Mann crushes AAP, finishes Sukhbir Badal, dictates political discourse
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
Punjab has
the potential to throw up surprises.
In an
unprecedented move, Punjab has rejected Aam Aadmi Party within less than four
months of extending massive mandate to form the government to vent their anger
against the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal respectively.
Khalistan
protagonist Simranjit Singh Mann, who heads the Akali Dal (Amritsar), is back.
This is his third victory after 1989 and 1999 from Tarn Taran and Sangrur
respectively.
The people
of Sangrur, the Lok Sabha seat vacated by Bhagwant Mann who is now the chief
minister heading the Aam Aadmi Party government, have rejected AAP and pushed
the Shiromani Akali Dal to the last slot. Sangrur this time has opted for Simranjit Singh Mann as replacement for Bhagwant Mann in Parliament.
The reason
is simple yet complex and rooted in historical Punjab psyche.
Punjab has
never accepted hegemony of Delhi.
The
political dynamics of Punjab has always
been dictated by the Sikh religio-political matrix. The history of struggles in
Punjab during the last 500 years have always been Sikh struggles or
Sikh-dominated struggles. This was so even during the freedom movement.
The people
who identify themselves with the interests and concerns of Punjab are the Sikhs
and such issues includes the apportionment of river waters that presently is
heavily biased against Punjab despite the fact that these three rivers flow
through this state but 70 per cent of the irrigation is done by tube wells.
An important
dimension is that the people of Punjab have opted for Mann despite his being a
Khalistan advocate. He has been supported by people across different sections,
and not just the Sikhs alone. He has been elected to the Parliament twice
earlier.
People in
Punjab expect immediate results and AAP failed to come up to those
expectations. They were too quick to teach a lesson to AAP.
What cost
AAP heavily is the perception that Bhagwant Mann government is a proxy
government and the levers of real power operated from elsewhere. Mann hanging
from the window of a car during road show of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief
Arvind Kejriwal reinforced that perception.
Punjab
psyche does not accept such humiliation.
Punjab has
its own issues due to which the dynamics here is different from all other
states. The party that does not understand this psyche can’t last for long and
this is what has happened with AAP despite having 92 MLAs out of a House of
117.
This is not
just an electoral defeat of AAP but also the moral defeat of the leadership.
The nearest
example is that of Akali Dal-BJP government headed by Parkash Singh Badal that
had come into power riding the wave of a massive mandate in 1997. In the
Adampur Assembly byelection in November 1998, the Akali Dal lost to the
Congress after which the political discourse changed overnight.
The chain of
developments that were triggered by the Adampur results led to the ouster of
Akali Dal-BJP alliance in 2002 that at one time was considered to be invincible
with the two parties representing the Sikhs and the Hindus respectively.
AAP too had
received similar mandate but that now stands frittered away and that too within
less than four months.
The issue
now is as to how the political discourse is going to change.
Mann is a
Khalistan protagonist but he did not contest this election of the Sikh state
agenda. The issues of Punjab, of course, have broader support among the people.
An important
dimension of this result is that the issues associated with the struggle in
which more than 40,000 people lost their lives just can’t be swept under the
carpet. The Shiromani Akali Dal, first under Parkash Singh Badal and then under
his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, ignored those issues but at a very heavy cost.
Accountability
must be fixed for what happened in Punjab during the period beginning from 1978
to 1995. The apology for army attack on Golden Temple (Darbar Sahib) code-named
Operation Bluestar is one dimension. People have the right to know as to what
went on in Delhi at that time.
Now it is
for Mann to take up this cause.
AAP has
promised “Change (Badlav)” but failed. This has changed the mood of the people
and that too within three months that in itself is unprecedented.
It is simple
in Punjab - perform or perish. People now seem to be in no mood to wait and
watch.
Moreover,
they won’t like their chief minister to be humiliated.
Punjab
symbolises dignity and self-respect.
AAP now
can’t sell its governance model in Himachal Pradesh going to the polls by year
end.
And the
result in Sangrur has finally sealed the destiny of Sukhbir Singh Badal. The
Akali Dal finished at number five while it was the BJP that was at no. 4. Both
these parties along with the Congress lost their security deposits.
Sangrur at
one time used to be Akali stronghold and it is elected an Akali but from the
radical domain.
One has to
wait and watch for long term impact on political dynamics.
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