Ruling alliance overcomes anti-incumbency factor; distraught Amarinder heads to Delhi to resign from Cong party post
Punjab created electoral history by retaining the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance in power as the Congress, seeking to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor failed to muster up the required majority in 117-member assembly.
Distraught PCC president Amarinder Singh, who was announced by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi as the chief minister candidate a few days before the polling, left for New Delhi in the evening to tender his resignation from the party post. Hoping to regain power, the Congress merely added three more seats to its tally raising it from 43 in 2007 to 46 this time.
In a state where no ruling government has been voted to power again ever since 1947, much against expectations it would be for the first time that the government would be repeated for its second term in succession.
Jubilant Akali leaders credited the father-son duo of the Badal family for their aggressive and astute campaigning that resulted in a historic feat for the party.
Beating the anti-incumbency wave hollow, the party, in fact, improved on its tally to touch 56 members in the House, from 50 in 2007.
Making up for the loss of seats that the BJP suffered, coming down from 19 seats in the last House to 12 seats in this election, the Akalis have made sure to retain power in the state convincingly.
Both, the BSP and the Punjab People’s Party, which were expected to queer the pitch for the Congress and the Akalis, drew blank while PPP president Manpreet Badal lost at both the constituencies, Gidderbaha and Maur.
Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, who faced a stiff competition at the hands of his brother Gurdas Badal (PPP) and his cousin Maheshinder Singh Badal (Congress) retained his Lambi seat with an impressive margin of more than 18,000 votes.
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, who masterminded the electioneering along with his father, won again on the Jalalabad seat by an overwhelming margin of 52,308 votes, which is highest in the state.
PCC president Amarinder Singh stood humbled as his son, Raninder Singh, was among prominent losers in the Congress.
Amarinder, however, dismissed the Akali Dal propaganda on development in the state and said the Congress would carry out an intensive exercise to pin down the causes of its defeat.
Working on social engineering the Akali Dal created a history also by making Hindu candidates win on its ticket. At least five Hindu candidates won on the Akali ticket defeating Sikh candidates from rival parties. NK Sharma won in Zirakpur, Deep Malhotra in Faridkot, Prem Mittal in Mansa, PC Garg in Sangrur and Nanad Lal Gujar in Balachaur.
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