After winning Punjab, AAP to focus on Gujarat, Himachal
After its huge victory in the Punjab elections, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on its "radar," said party leader Akshay Marathe. "(AAP) has been sending party workers to these states and we will definitely have a big impact," Marathe told NDTV. Notably, AAP won 92 assembly seats out of 117 seats in Punjab.
Why does this story matter?
AAP's victory in Punjab is the party's first win in the state. Notably, this is also the first region other than Delhi where AAP has been able to win an election. The victory marks the departure of the party from being a Delhi-centric party to a national one. The AAP is now projecting itself as a national alternative to Congress and BJP.
People seeing an alternative, people want change: Marathe
"For decades, the people of India have had to decide between two parties who did not work for them," Marathe said. "For the first time, they are seeing an alternative to both, and people want change," he added. On AAP's victory in Punjab, Marathe said, "We have worked very hard for the last 10 years and our performance can be seen by all."
'Political bigwigs don't even acknowledge our presence'
Talking about how Punjab results have defied exit poll predictions, Marathe said, "We have faced this in AAP all along. That political bigwigs don't even consider us or acknowledge our presence. But then we clean sweep them."
AAP had finished second in 2017 polls
AAP's performance this time is a massive improvement from the 2017 assembly polls when it finished second behind Congress. This time, Congress emerged a distant second by winning merely 18 seats, while the Shiromani Akali Dal was limited to only three seats. Congress heavyweights, including CM Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu, also lost elections as the party was battling factionalism and anti-incumbency.
Turbulence in Punjab Congress
Congress changed its CM in Punjab in September last year after a weeks-long power tussle with state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Congress finally declared Channi as the first Dalit CM of Punjab, endorsing him for the CM face days before the polling on February 20. Even then, the differences between Channi and Sidhu continued as the latter hinted about his own CM ambitions.
