The debutant competitor AAP winning 14 of the 35 wards in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections signals a new electoral equation that is here to stay with the Assembly elections in Punjab that are now only a few months away. Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) didn’t have much at stake with its 12 wards, as for the Congress, which has won only in eight wards, it would be interesting to note how the AAP and Congress evaluate their electorate strategies in an environment of fluctuating vote shares.
The floating voters are keenly observing, assessing and evaluating the changing situation on the ground and can turn any way. With the Samyukt Kisan Morcha keeping both the sides waiting to get political power, and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh cobbling with the BJP along with other leaders of the Akalis, this election sounds like a stunner.
Channi’s popularity is kind of intact; as for Navjot Singh Sidhu, his remarks makes the Congress apologetic to the public; and then there is Kejriwal’s stance on desperately looking to expand its electoral foot in the State that has had the history of continued militancy and insurgency that has severely crippled its society and polity.
However, the silver lining for Kejriwal is the fact that the urban-middle-class supports him and stands by him when it comes to developing and maintaining basic civic amenities, which are the primary matters of the urbanites. For many others, the shaping, structuring and securing of one’s sustenance and survival is more a pivotal issue. There may be shortcomings in how the AAP has performed in some of the areas, but it is attempting to recast its means, methods and merits.
Lage Raho Kejriwal