The Aam Aadmi Party will be forming the next government in Punjab. It has decimated the ruling Congress party whose chief ministerial candidate Charanjit Singh Channi lost from both the seats he fought. AAP had declared Bhagwant Mann as its chief ministerial candidate. The Congress had become weak after its internal strife which led it to change the chief ministerial midway.

After securing an impressive win in the 117-seat Punjab Assembly, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the heaviest of the seats of Punjab have not only been rattled but left shaken and broken because of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dislodged the Congress from office in Punjab, boosting its ambition to emerge as a national alternative. Celebrations erupted at AAP’s Delhi Headquarters after its landmark performance in the 2022 state elections.

Kejriwal addressed the gathering among thunderous chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram. He thanked every single volunteer for toiling hard to not just make AAP cross the finish line, but break all records.

The Delhi Chief Minister said, “What the people of Punjab have done is truly miraculous. We all love you. The whole country is in awe of you. This result is no ordinary feat, it is a living example of ‘Inquilab’ or revolution. The heaviest of the seats of Punjab have not only been rattled but left shaken and broken. Sukhbir Badal, Capt Amrinder, Charanjit Channi, Prakash Badal, Navjot Singh Siddhu, Bikram Majithia have all lost from their bastions today. For the last seven years, we’ve been changing the system, introducing honest politics, and ensuring a work-positive government.”

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lived up to its claim as it moved towards a landslide in Punjab, leading in 90 of the 117 assembly seats, as per trends. It is indeed a moment of reckoning for the established parties like Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which perhaps underestimated the power of broom.

The victory of AAP is significant as it got three fourth of seats in the house off 117, almost repeating its Delhi performance. The Akalis were hopeful of their win in rural pockets while the Congress hoped his Dalit card would fetch votes but that didn’t happen. AAP’s pitch for hospitals and schools indeed found favour from the people who voted for the party overwhelmingly.