AAP's victory in Punjab gives push to its national ambitions, party leaders talk of 'Kejriwal model of governance'

Aam Aadmi Party's landslide victory in Punjab in its second outing in the state has given a push to party leaders' hopes of emerging as a national alternative to the ruling BJP and replacing Congress as the principal opposition party.

AAP leaders have said people of Punjab have given chance to "Kejriwal model of governance" and that Delhi Chief Minister "will be the principal challenger of the BJP" in the future.

AAP swept the Punjab polls by getting three-fourths majority in the 117-member assembly pushing most of its rivals to the margins. The party had finished second behind Congress in the 2017 elections in the state.

Established on November 2012, AAP has been seeking to expand its footprint beyond Delhi and contested polls in Goa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in this round of state elections. It has won two seats in Goa getting 6.77 per cent votes. The party has now set its eyes on the assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year.

After a short-lived government in Delhi in 2013, AAP gave a signal of its prospects in Punjab by winning four seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The party had won 28 out of the 70 Assembly seats in Delhi in 2013 and formed the government with support from Congress. But Kejriwal resigned after 49 days as he did not get support for Jan Lokpal Bill in the state assembly. Kejriwal went on to win two elections in Delhi - in 2015 and 2020 - defeating the BJP which had a government at the Centre and decimating the Congress. In the 2020 Delhi assembly polls, it won 62 of the 70 seats.

With Punjab yearning for a change, AAP tapped into the feeling with its promises and declaring a chief ministerial candidate in Bhagwant Mann, its MP from the state. Kejriwal made repeated visits to the state and made populist promises. AAP also reminded people that it was "on verge of coming to power" in the state in the last assembly polls.

The party also repeatedly called for the repeal of three farm bills, which were eventually repealed by the central government.

The unabated infighting in Congress, which led to the ouster of Capt Amarinder Singh, and competing claims of state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for being declared chief ministerial candidate, also helped AAP.

With Delhi a Union Territory, this is the first time AAP will rule a full state.

AAP leaders focused on the 'Delhi model of governance' during their campaign.

"Punjab waalo tussi kamaal kar ditta', we all love you, Punjab. The results are a massive 'inquilaab', big seats have shaken up", he said after AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal after winning the Punjab election.

Raghav Chadha, AAP's Punjab co-in charge said the party has now become a "national force". "It is a big day for AAP as a party. Today, we are no longer a regional party. We have become a national party. I am certain that Kejriwal will lead the nation one day and by 2024, AAP will be a natural replacement of the Congress. Even the BJP took much more time to win two states than the AAP, which was founded in 2012," he said.

"In future, Arvind Kejriwal will be the principal challenger of the BJP, and AAP will be Congress' national and natural replacement," he added.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Punjab has given chance to Kejriwal's model of governance.

"Today, his model of governance has been established at the national level. Kejriwal is fulfilling the dream of freedom fighters, BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. This is not a victory of the AAP but a win of the common man," he said.

AAP leaders said they will intensify their efforts in Gujarat in the coming months.

"Today's result has motivated our AAP cadre in Gujarat. We will go all out in these nine months to become the main contender against the BJP in Gujarat. The victory in Punjab will also give new hope to our supporters in the state," said Gulab Singh, AAP's Gujarat in-charge.

AAP won 92 seats in the Punjab assembly and Congress won 18. Shiromani Akali Dal won three seats and BJP two seats.

( With inputs from ANI )

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