Another setback: Party wins only 3% seats; Cheema sees silver lining

CHANDIGARH : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) went all-out to make an impression in the civic polls, but it put up a weak show.

The principal opposition party failed to win any of the 116 urban local bodies, getting only 60 of the 2,168 wards, or say around 3% of the seats, in municipal corporations and municipal councils across the state. Overall, it lagged way behind the Congress, which swept the civic polls amid allegations of booth capturing, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

In the municipal corporations of Bathinda, Abohar, Batala, Moga, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Pathankot, the AAP won only nine of the 350 wards, trailing behind even the BJP whose leaders have been facing strong opposition wherever they go from the farmers protesting against the three agriculture marketing laws.

With the state polls just a year away, the infighting-ridden party, which has been trying to get its act together, had presented itself as an alternative to the Congress in the state. The party was being seen as a probable beneficiary of the monthslong farmers’ stir at Delhi’s doors to which it has extended support.

Its election campaign, particularly public meetings and road shows held by national spokesperson and newly appointed Punjab unit co-incharge Raghav

Chadha, state president Bhagwant Mann and leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, had also elicited encouraging response, raising hopes of revival of fortunes after a series of electoral setbacks. However, the performance fell short due to lack of a vibrant grassrootslevel cadre and loss of initial goodwill due to constant infighting and desertions.

Cheema, however, sees a silver lining in the party’s performance in its first municipal elections in the state. “These were fought on local issues whereas the 2022 polls will be contest on state issues. The AAP was seen as a party with rural support base but has received tremendous support in urban area,” he said.