AAP demonetised ruling Badals, Cong encashed it
Kejriwal’s strong antiincumbency pitch failed to get expected results
Even Amarinder admits that the youth identifies with Sidhu and he would be only too willing to pass the baton on to him after signing off as chief minister.
Kishor’s campaigns also ensured Amarinder shed the royalty tag and hit the road meeting leaders, workers and voters. It helped Kishor’s team, I-PAC, create a huge database of dole-happy voters who registered for smart phones, debt waivers and jobs.
The Congress managed to win back its traditional vote bank of Dalits and Hindus. It has bagged 20 of 34 reserved seats in the state, up from 10 in the 2012 polls.
Some ticket tangles by Amarinder were self-inflicted, but his “one family, one ticket” rule worked to the party’s favour. It ensured more young faces without political backgrounds were in the fray and tickets were not cornered solely by relatives and loyalists of state leaders.
The Congress also outwitted its rivals when it came to competitive populism. It promised voters the moon — smart phones with free data to the youth, one job for each family, and debt waiver to farmers. Amarinder also played the emotive card. He called 2017 his last election and voters did not disappoint him.
The Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda announced its support to the ruling alliance, which cut both ways — the AAP lost a large chunk of voters associated with the sect, and the Akalis lost Sikhs angry at the dera. Both ways, it was advantage Congress.
The Congress can thank the ruling alliance for its victory. The signal to the Akali-BJP leaders and voters was clear on the day of polling — stop the AAP, even if it means adding votes to the Congress kitty!