The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) spectacular debut in Chandigarh municipal election is a shot on the arm for the party aiming to form the next government in Punjab. Delivering a blow to the Congress, Akalis and BJP, the AAP not only emerged as the single largest party winning 14 out of the 35 seats but its candidate Damanpreet Singh Nagpal defeated sitting BJP Mayor Ravikant Sharma from ward number 17 by a margin of 828 votes while another AAP candidate Jasbir Singh defeated former BJP mayor Devesh Moudgil from ward number 21 by 939 votes. The BJP, which had the incumbent government, stood at number 2 with 12 seats, the Congress was pushed to the third position with just 8 while the Akalis won just one seat.
As results firmed up, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “The victory of the AAP in Chandigarh municipal election is a sign of the change in Punjab, the people of Chandigarh have discarded corrupt politics and chosen the honest politics of the AAP. Congratulations to all the winners. Punjab is now ready for change.”
The AAP will showcase its stunning performance in Chandigarh as its campaign gains momentum in Punjab in the coming days. Since the party has fallen four seats short of securing a full majority, it is planning whether it should try to form the government by enlisting the support from the winners of other parties, especially the Congress or sit it out.
AAP leader and Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said, “People have reposted faith in the politics of Kejriwal ji… Results have just come in. We will decide on the strategy over time. Now, it is clear that people wanted to vote for the development of Chandigarh. In other parties, whoever thinks that the development of Chandigarh is a priority may come and join us.” Sisodia also said the next Mayor of Chandigarh will be from the party, which is the message from the people of Chandigarh. He hinted that some winning candidates are already in touch with AAP and they could be from the BJP.
AAP making inroads into Chandigarh is significant as urban Hindu areas such as Amritsar had been the party’s Achilles heels in the 2017 assembly elections. In fact, AAP’s stunning debut in Chandigarh civic election could also mean loyal voters of the BJP may have shifted their base to AAP.
The reading within the party is that if people are given an alternative, they are willing to take a chance. Since BJP had been ruling Chandigarh for the last 15 years, the alternative is not the Congress. There is a belief in AAP that the infighting within the Congress did not lead to its poor show in Chandigarh but “people across the country are not looking at the Congress as an option anymore”.
The fact that AAP took the municipal elections quite seriously was seen during Kejriwal’s campaigning on December 19. His pitch was simple — after the Chandigarh municipality was formed in 1996, BJP ruled for 13 years while the Congress for 12 years and both have hampered the city’s development.
He went on to promise the “Delhi model of development” for Chandigarh. “If your friend tells that Kejriwal has not done any work in Delhi, don’t vote for me, but if your friend says Kejriwal has done good work in Delhi, get your entire colony to vote for me,” he had told the cheering crowds during the Chandigarh campaign.
The chief minister had vowed to form a corruption-free government and door-step delivery of services while eliminating the mountain of garbage at Dadu Majra and making Chandigarh the cleanest city in Asia, besides reducing electricity bills to zero, bringing housing societies under the ambit of municipal council, installing CCVT cameras and street lights across the city for women’s safety. “You have given 13 years to the BJP, 12 to the Congress, give us five years,” Kejriwal had said.
As municipal election results started pouring in, Sisodia rushed to Chandigarh while AAP’s Punjab in charge Raghav Chadha said they are an indication of the will of the people to give one chance to Kejriwal. “This is a victory of the Kejriwal’s model of development. People of Chandigarh are fed up with the traditional parties such as the BJP and Congress, which ruled Chandigarh for 25 years. They discarded them and gave a chance to AAP,” said Chadha. Holding on the margin of victory in most seats, which he claimed to be significant, Chadha said, “Chandigarh is just the trailer, Punjab is the full movie”.
It must be noted that the BJP swept the 2016 municipal polls while the Akali-BJP alliance lost the 2017 assembly elections making way for the Congress. Pramod Kumar, Director, Institute of Development and Communication, said, “Congress could not defeat the BJP but AAP has gained. Anti-incumbency against BJP was very high because they controlled the municipality for a long time, so AAP has gained at the expense of the Congress.” Kumar said the division of votes between AAP and Congress has ensured some respectability for the BJP. He further added the lesson learnt from Chandigarh polls is how far the AAP will be able to replace the Congress in Punjab.
On the upcoming Punjab assembly elections, Kumar said if AAP did not allow the Congress to appropriate the anti-incumbency against BJP, it is possible that it may not allow the Akalis and BJP against the Congress. “AAP may replace the Congress in Punjab and that is the challenge for the Akalis and the BJP,” he stressed.
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