It is Aam Aadmi Party all over Punjab

March 12, 2022

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WINNING DOCTORS: Some of the medical doctors who won in the Punjab 2022 state elections under the APP banner. L-R: Dr Baljit, Dr Sukhwinder, Dr Inderbir, Dr Kashmir and Dr Amandeep

By Prabhjot Paul Singh | Opinion |

It is Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) all over Punjab. After its landslide win in the Punjab Assembly elections, it is going to take full quota of seven seats of the State in Rajya Sabha, the upper House of Parliament. Later this month, AAP will have all five seats falling vacant on April 9 available to it. In July, it will get the remaining two seats of Rajya Sabha also. So, between March 31 and end of July, AAP will have an opportunity to adjust seven of its activists or supporters as Members of Parliament thus taking its strength in Rajya Sabha to 10 from the preset three. It will also mean end of road for other parties that till now represented Punjab in Rajya Sabha. As of today, leaders of Congress (three), Shiromani Akali Dal (3) and Bhartiya Janata Party (1) are representing the State in the upper House.

Aspirants for nomination as AAP candidates have already started making beelines to New Delhi for approaching the party convener Arvind Kejriwal.

The AAP already has three members – all from Delhi – in Rajya Sabha. It stands to gain in Punjab as two different elections will be held for the five Rajya Sabha seats – one for three seats and another for the remaining two.

Those retiring from Rajya Sabha in April are Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo (both Congress), Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Naresh Gujral (both Akali Dal) and Shwait Malik (BJP).

Two more members from Punjab – Balwinder Singh Bhunder (Akali Dal) and Ambika Soni (Congress) – will complete their tenure in July and the AAP is all set bag both these seats also.

With the AAP declaring Bhagwant Mann, who is Lok Sabha member from Sangrur, as its chief ministerial candidate, the party is set to lose representation in the lower house. Mann is the lone AAP member in Lok Sabha. It may wrest back the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat as and when by-election to this seat is announced.

Elated at party’s historic huge triumph in Punjab where it bagged 92 of 117 seats, the AAP has decided to hold its’ swearing in ceremony at Shaheed Bhagat Singh memorial in Khatkar Kalan. to form the government in the state. To invoke holy and heavenly blessings, Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal accompanied by newly elected MLAS will reach ‘Guru ki Nagri’ Amritsar on March 13. They will pay their obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib, Durgiana Mandir and Sri Ram Tirath Mandir to express their gratitude to the Almighty for the party’s success in the historic battle of the ballot. After soliciting the heavenly blessings, the AAP national convener and the Punjab ‘s destined Chief Minister will conduct a road show in Amritsar to celebrate their victory and thank the voters.

Bhagwant Mann will take oath as the Chief Minister of the state on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, ancestral village of freedom fighter Shaheed-e-Azam S. Bhagat Singh.

Bhagwant Mann who won with a huge margin of over 58,000 votes from Dhuri has invited national convener Arvind Kejriwal for his swearing-in ceremony on March 16.

Bhagwant Mann also already announced that his Cabinet will have a total strength of 18, including Chief Minister. The new ruling party will also have to choose its nominee for the crucial position of Speaker in addition to that of Deputy Speaker unless it decides to give the second position to the Opposition.

Analysis of election results make interesting revelations. One loses the count of big heads that rolled in the February 20 polls. Four Chief Ministers – Charanjit Singh Channi, Capt Amarinder Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Parkash Singh Badal – all licked dust as they lost by convincing to huge margins to new faces in politics. Besides, leaders of several parties, including Shiromani Akali Dal (Sukhbir Singh Badal), Congress (Navjot Singh Sidhu), Samyukat Samaj Morcha (Balbir Singh Rajewal), Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) (Simranjit Singh Mann), Lok Insaaf Party (Balwinder Singh Bains), could not withstand the anger and disillusionment of the electors of the State.

The electors used their right to give a severe blow to the dynastic politics by making sure that those not looking beyond their families are defeated in the battle for the ballot. Those who fell on wayside were bigwigs like Badals (Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Manpreet Singh Badal, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon and Bikram Singh Majithia), Chandumajras (Prem Singh and Harinder Pal Singh), Brars (Tota Singh and Barjinder alias Makhan Singh) and Manns (Simranjit Singh and Eman Singh).

While AAP is celebrating its thundering success attributing it to an unbeatable strong undercurrent, many others take it as a mandate of rejection of both Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal who had been ruling the State since its reorganization in 1966. It is for the first time that a third party, AAP, has wrested power with a massive voters’ support. It was this undercurrent of anger and rejection that virtually forced many of the erstwhile political stalwarts into retirement. Some of them may had been thinking of this election as their last chance in the State politics. Voters, however, dashed their hopes.

Both Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal witnessed a steep decline in their share of votes as was obvious from the results. Never in the history any party had won 92 of 117 seats in the State legislature. Though there are some who had been previously with either Congress or Shiromani Akali Dal, but majority of them are new to one of pillars of democracy, the legislature.

The ruling AAP MLAs may not have legislative experience still many of them are masters of their fields. For example, the new Vidhan Sabha has 13 qualified doctors, a record unprecedented in the history of Independent India. No State legislature ever had such a high per centage of doctors. Six of them are MBBS, two are Pulmonologists, four are Ophthalmologists and one is a Dentist.

These doctors – Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhy MS (ENT) from Banga, Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal MD (RD) from Chabbewal, Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal MS (ENT) from Taran Tarn, Dr Ravjot Singh MD (Med) (PGI) from Sham Chaurasi, Dr Charanjit Singh MS (Eye) from Chamkaur Sahib, Dr Nachhattar Pal from Nawan Shahar, Dr Inderbir Nijjer MD (RD), Dr Sandhu from Amritsar, Dr Ajay Gupta from Amritsar, Dr Vijay Kumar from Mansa, Dr Baljit Kaur from Malout, Dr Amandeep Arora from Moga, and Dr. Balbir Singh from Patiala Rural will be an asset to the State and can play an effective role in improving the healthcare facilities.

Besides, Olympian Pargat Singh, debutants ex-Inspector-General of Police, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, and the comedian-turned politician Bhagwant Singh Mann as Chief Minister will add lustre to the legislature group.

There will be 13 women members – Jeewan Jyot Kaur, Santosh Kumari Katariya, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, Anmol Gaggan Mann, Rajinder Pal Kaur, Dr Baljit Kaur, Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora, Inderjit Kaur Mann, Neena Mittal, Narinder Kaur Bharaj, Baljinder Kaur, Aruna Chaudhary and Ganieve Kaur – and a father-son pair of Rana Gurjit Singh and Rana Inder Partap Singh in the new Punjab Assembly. Among others are sons Sandeep Jakhar (Sunil Kumar Jakhar) and Avtar Singh Junior (Avtar Henry).

PROMINENT LOSERS

PRESENT/FORMER CHIEF MINISTERS

Charanjit Singh Channi (Congress)
Capt Amarinder Singh (Cong)
Parkash Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Cong)

LEADERS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Navjot Singh Sidhu (Congress)
Sukhbir Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Balbir Singh Rajewal (Samyukat Samaj Morcha)
Simranjit Singh Mann (Shiromani Akali Dal – Amritsar)
Simranjit Singh Bains (Lok Insaaf Party)

FATHER-SON DUO

Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Tota Singh and Barjinder Singh Brar (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Prem Singh Chandumajra and Harinder Pal Singh (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Simranjit Singh Mann and Eman Singh Mann (Shiromani Akali Dal – Amritsar)

MPS (PRESENT AND FORMER)

Sukhbir Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Vijay Sampla (BJP)
*Jagmeet Brar (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Mohan Singh Phalianwala (Congress)
Simranjit Singh Mann (Shiromani Akali Dal – Amritsar)
Capt Amarinder Singh (Punjab Lok Congress)
Prem Singh Chandumajra (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Parkash Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal)

OLYMPIANS

Surinder Singh Sodhi (AAP)
Sajjan Singh Cheema (AAP)

SINGERS/ARTISTES
Sidhu Moosewala (Congress)

CIVIL SERVANTS/POLICEMEN

Iqbal Singh Lalpura (BJP)
Sucha Ram Ladher (BJP)
Dr Jagmohan Singh Raju (BJP)
H S Sandhu (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Kuldip Singh Vaid (Congress)
SR Kler (Shiromani Akali Dal)

SGPC CHIEFS

Bibi Jagir Kaur (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Gobind Singh Longowal (Shiromani Akali Dal)

SONS

Mohit Mohindra (Congress)
Dilraj Singh Bhunder (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Ravi Karan Singh Kahlon (Shiromani Akali Dal)
Manish Bansal (Congress)

POLITICAL PARTIES THAT FAILED TO OPEN THEIR ACCOUNT

Punjab Lok Congress
Lok Insaaf Party
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
Sanyukt Shiromani Akali Dal
Samyukat Samaj Morcha
Samyukat Kisan Morcha
CPI
CPM
CPI(M-L)

FINAL TALLY

AAP 92, Congress 18, Shiromani Akali Dal 3, BJP 02, BSP 1, Independent 1

Total voters 2.14 crores; Total candidates 1304; Women candidates 93; Transgenders 02; Polling percentage 71.45

Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows. For more in-depth analysis please visit probingeye.com or follow him on Twitter.com/probingeye

Giant slayer, 19 medical doctors in new Punjab assembly (Asia Samachar, 12 March 2022)

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