Highlights
- AAP set to form the next government in Punjab
- Bhagwant Mann to be the next Cheif Minister
- Sacrilege incidents, drugs, and unemployment were the key issues in these elections
With the trends and results available so far Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has established a clear lead in more than 90 seats with the ruling Congress a distant second followed by Shrimoni Akali Dal and is all set to form the next government.
A party or an alliance needs 59 seats to form a majority.
AAP's chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann, who won with over 58,000 votes from Dhuri, said in his victory speech at Sangrur, “Give me a month and you will start noticing the difference in the [welfare] delivery system.”
Mr Mann who is the man of the moment in Punjab announced that he would take oath as Punjab’s 17th chief minister from Khatkar Kalan, the birthplace of Shaheed Bhagat Singh in Nawanshahr district.
The Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have been traditionally the two major political parties in Punjab. However the state witnessed a multi-cornered contest this time between the ruling Congress, the AAP, the SAD-BSP alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) alliance and the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, a political front of various farmer bodies.
Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt) had formed an alliance to contest these elections.
The Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, comprised of several Punjab farmer bodies, which had taken part in the protests against the Central government’s now-repealed farm laws were also in the fray for the first time.
Sacrilege incidents, drugs, and unemployment emerged as the most critical issues in the lead-up to the election in Punjab.
Many prominent faces whose fate was decided today were Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal, and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Many heavyweights including Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Bikram Majithia, and Sukhbir Singh Badal all lost their respective seats.
Meanwhile, people had started to gather outside the residence of Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur to celebrate his victory. This is predicted as the biggest win for AAP outside Delhi.
Earlier, the counting of votes was underway to elect 117 members of the 16th Assembly of Punjab Legislative Assembly. A total number of 1304 candidates were in the fray including 93 women and two transgenders.
Polling for Punjab Vidhan Sabha was held on 20 February 2022. According to the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the state has over 2.14 crore eligible voters. During these elections, 71.95 percent polling was recorded which was the lowest percentage as compared to the three previous assembly elections.
Click here to listen to our conversation with Punjabi journalist Parmeshwar Singh 'Ber Kalan' who provided a detailed description of the Punjab Election Results.
