Punjab political parties on Thursday congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its landslide victory in the Assembly polls.

The incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit S Channi said he humbly accepts the verdict of the people of Punjab and congratulates AAP and their “elected CM” Bhagwant Mann for the victory. “I hope they will deliver on the expectations of people,” he said.

Former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said he accepted the verdict of the people with all humility as democracy triumphed.

The Punjab Lok Congress chief also congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party and its Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Singh Man for an emphatic victory in the elections. He lost to AAP’s Ajit Pal Singh Kohli from Patiala constituency by a margin of over 20,000 votes.

Amarinder said, while winning and losing is the natural outcome of elections, in the end, it was a victory of democracy in Punjab.

He congratulated Punjabis for rising above caste, sectarian and communal considerations and voting above any divisive lines. The Punjabis have shown the true spirit of Punjabiyat and shown the way to the country, he remarked.

The former CM said, the people of Punjab had also rejected the communal and divisive politics of the Congress party in Punjab by first rejecting one leader as Chief Minister for being a Hindu and then trying to play the caste factor.
Expressing his heartiest congratulations to Mann and wishing him good luck to lead the state, Capt Amarinder said, the focus of the new government should be to protect Punjab’s future.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu also congratulated AAP for its big win. “The voice of the people is the voice of God. Humbly accept the mandate of the people of Punjab. Congratulations to AAP,” Sidhu tweeted. Sidhu lost to the AAP candidate from the Amritsar East seat.

The Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal congratulated AAP and their leader Mann on their victory in the Punjab polls. “I offer them my sincerest good wishes for success and I am sure they will live up to the people’s expectations,” he said.

“We whole-heartedly and with total humility accept the mandate given by Punjabis. I am grateful to lakhs of Punjabis who placed their trust in us and to SAD-BSP workers for their selfless toil. We will continue to serve them with humility in the role they have assigned to us,” Badal said in another tweet.