There was a clear sense of hope and faith in the air. Even before the first round of counting was over, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers started thronging the party office in state capital Chandigarh. Men in yellow turbans and women in yellow dupatta boosted the confidence of workers as they marched ahead to record a memorable chapter in the history of elections in Punjab.
Manjinder Singh, 52, said, “Is vaar jhaad fer denge (we will win the state this time). “We have worked very hard, and the efforts will pay off. We couldn’t achieve this in 2017, but a lot has changed since then.”
Under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister and party convener Arvind Kejriwal, AAP made an impressive debut in Punjab politics in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when four of its candidates won the mandate. It made further inroads into the state in the years to come and won 20 of the total 117 seats in the 2017 assembly elections.
“Bahut parshan dekhte dekhte. is var par parivalana lana assi (We were very upset. We had to make a change this time), said 58-year-old Kulwinder Kaur, smiling while holding an AAP flag bearing the image of her CM candidate Bhagwant Mann. Mann said in Punjab It has vowed to bring youth back to the state by opening up employment opportunities and end the corruption affecting the development of the state.
The call to implement the “Delhi Model of Governance” was also echoed among the people.
Unlike in 2017, this time the confidence among the workers was evident. At the party office in Chandigarh, the stage was set, the music was on, the joyous celebrations began as a result. Within hours, sizable banners thanking the people of Punjab for giving the AAP a chance were seen in the party office as workers cheered their new CM Bhagwant Mann.
Tarlochan Singh, 62, from Mohali danced happily wearing the trademark yellow turban as Mann took an early lead in the polls. “Mann had asked for a chance, and we gave it to him. Now we will not allow any other party to come to power at least for the next 20 years,” said Singh, who had supported the Badal family-led Akali Dal for years before switching to AAP.
Apart from the promise of a government free from unemployment, drug menace and corruption, AAP in its election manifesto has vowed to improve the condition of government hospitals and schools. The party also promised stringent punishment in cases of sacrilege and to resolve farmers’ issues.
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