AAP faces an uphill task in bypolls to 4 constituencies
CHANDIGARH: After a string of embarrassing electoral losses, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faces an uphill task in the bypolls to four assembly constituencies in Punjab.
The party, which made a stupendous debut in the parliamentary polls just five-and-a-halfyears ago, is a pale shadow of its former self in the state today with ceaseless internal conflicts, splits and desertions contributing to its terminal decline. The mood of scepticism among its leaders and supporters after the reverses in Lok Sabha polls and other elections in the last two years reveals how challenging is the political landscape as very few of them show confidence in the splintered party’s ability to give a strong fight to the Congress which is at the helm in the state.
“The ruling parties generally have a clear-cut advantage in byelections because they hold all the levers of power and are in a position to politically manoeuvre the situation,” said a senior AAP leader who did not wish to be identified.
SHRINKING SUPPORT BASE, DEMORALISED CADRE
Of the four seats going to bypolls on October 21, the AAP had won Dakha and stood second in Jalalabad in the state assembly elections in 2017. Phagwara was allotted to alliance partner Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), but its candidate had fought on the AAP symbol (broom) and got 25% of the votes polled.
But the party has only gone downhill since, losing its appeal and support due to internal squabbles. It got just 2% votes in these four constituencies, including Dakha, during the parliamentary elections in May this year. Overall, the AAP’s seat tally was down from four in 2014 Lok Sabha elections to one seat with state unit chief Bhagwant Mann retaining his Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. The vote share also nosedived from 25% to just 7.4% as most of its candidates lost their deposit. At one stage, opinion was divided in the state unit on contesting the bypolls, but the core committee took the call to contest all four seats.
FOCUS ON DAKHA, JALALABAD SEATS
Banking on Mann’s appeal and ability to connect with the rural voters, the AAP is focusing on Dakha and Jalalabad constituencies where it is pitted against the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). In 2017, HS Phoolka, a renowned lawyer, won Dakha seat by 4,169 votes for the party whereas Mann had taken on SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on the latter’s turf in Jalalabad and polled 56,771 votes.
Leader of opposition and AAP MLA Harpal Singh Cheema says the party hopes to do well in both these constituencies. “There is no dearth of issues as the Congress has failed to fulfil its election promises and deliver justice in sacrilege cases.
Also, the Lok Sabha elections are different from the assembly polls and contested on local issues,” he says. In the present bleak circumstances, if the party is able to get anywhere close to its earlier performance in these segments, it will be seen as a big achievement.
PARTY HAD WON DAKHA AND STOOD SECOND IN JALALABAD IN THE 2017 STATE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS