AAP leads the field in Punjab: A history of its time in the state

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has more than impressed in Punjab, blitzing past the rest of the field to take the lead in a whopping 87 seats in the frontier state. The Arvind Kejriwal-helmed outfit's nearest rival, the Congress, leads in a mere 14 seats.

This Punjab blitzkrieg is the culmination of a number of factors, including the AAP's steady rise in the state and anti-incumbency. The foray began in 2014 when the party contested in the Lok Sabha elections. It won four out of 13 contested seats, with current chief ministerial face Bhagwant Singh Mann clinching the Sangrur constituency. It also won in Patiala and in two reserved seats – Faridkot and Fatehgarh Sahib.

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In 2017, the AAP debuted in the Punjab Assembly elections, allying with the Lok Insaaf Party. While the alliance eventually collapsed, the AAP turned heads with wins in 20 seats (out of 112 contested) and emerged as the second-largest party in the state. It was a rude shock for the Akali Dal, which had been the main Opposition party until then.

The AAP's Punjab MPs were reduced to one in 2019, with Mann retaining his Sangrur seat. In fact, Mann was the only AAP candidate across the nation to make it to the Parliament.

It is also worth noting that the AAP had won a majority in the municipal corporation elections in neighbouring Chandigarh, which were held two months before the Punjab Assembly polls. The AAP won 14 seats and emerged as the single largest party in the council. The party, however, failed to install its mayoral candidate, with the BJP's Sarabjit Kaur claiming the post. "The victory of Aam Aadmi Party in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is a sign of the coming change in Punjab," Kejriwal had tweeted at the time. "People of Chandigarh today have chosen honest politics of AAP, rejecting corrupt politics."

The AAP could now be on its way to breaking the 100-seat barrier predicted by the exit polls. Many have credited the party's meteoric rise in the state to Raghav Chadda, its Delhi MLA and national spokesperson. The AAP is not yet considered a 'national party' as per the Election Commission but the latest developments in Punjab could give a huge boost to its national ambitions.

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