In Punjab’s four-corner contest, AAP, Congress fight to show might; BJP tests ‘acceptance’

It appears more crowded than ever in Punjab.

When its 13 Lok Sabha seats vote Saturday, voters will have a choice of four major players, with no alliances in the picture – a departure from the long years that the Punjab contest was between the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance.

While the SAD left its ally since 1996 in 2020 during the farm stir, also in the race now is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has the advantage of being the ruling party in the state. Though the Congress and AAP are partners in the INDIA bloc, they went their separate ways in Punjab, where the Congress is currently the main opposition party.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had won eight seats in Punjab, with a 40.12% vote share. The SAD and BJP had won two seats each and secured 37.08% votes together. The AAP had got one seat and had scored 7.38% of the votes.

The AAP had swept the 2022 Assembly polls that followed, winning 92 of 117 seats.

For the ruling AAP, which is beset with crises, the elections will be a test of the popularity of its various welfare schemes. The party showcased the same through its campaign – talking about free 300 units of power, 43,000 government jobs, aam aadmi clinics, and supply of canal water to agriculture fields.

However, it will be a challenge for the AAP to retain the 42.01% vote share it got in the 2022 Assembly polls, with voices of disillusionment – partly due to the sky-high expectations built by the party – already being heard in the state.

With Punjab among the states where it continues to have a solid base, the Congress is hoping to repeat, or better, its good performance here to boost its numbers at the Centre.

However, the party was plagued by the exit of several senior leaders, and