Punjab’s Lok Sabha elections witness a unique scenario as all four major political parties, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are contesting independently. Interestingly, all three parties find themselves without their top leaders who were instrumental in their previous election campaigns.
The AAP, despite being a constituent of the INDIA bloc at the national level, has decided against an alliance with the Congress in Punjab. Similarly, the SAD and BJP, allies since 1996, have chosen to go their separate ways for this election, a result of their differences over the farmers’ agitation.
The absence of key leaders is also a notable aspect of this election. For the AAP, Arvind Kejriwal, the party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister, is currently incarcerated in Tihar jail due to his alleged involvement in the Delhi excise policy scam. In his absence, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken up the responsibility of leading the party’s campaign in the state.
The SAD is facing its first election without the presence of its patriarch, Parkash Singh Badal, the party’s five-time former chief minister who passed away in April 2023. Badal was the driving force behind the Akali Dal and a tireless campaigner. His son, Sukhbir Badal, the former deputy chief minister, is now handling the party’s campaign and frequently invokes his father’s legacy in his speeches.
The Congress is also experiencing the absence of Captain Amarinder Singh, the former two-time CM, from its campaign. Singh left the Congress in 2021 to form his own party, the Punjab Lok Congress, and later merged it with the BJP in 2022. When asked about his absence, former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who succeeded Amarinder, stated that “everybody has an expiry date.” Channi, who is contesting from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat, believes that Amarinder’s absence does not significantly impact the Congress’s campaign.
Despite the absence of their top leaders, the AAP, Congress, SAD, and BJP are actively campaigning in Punjab, each hoping to secure a favorable outcome in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
