National Approval Ratings: In Punjab, Congress projected for rout as BJP, SAD and AAP relegated to one seat altogether

Ahead of the Assembly polls, which will be held in 2019, Republic TV, in association with CVoter, has come out with the third edition of the National Approval Ratings to bring forward the mood of the nation in the present time.

If one state could be picked out where the tide has changed completely in comparison to 2014, it is Punjab. From a closely contested fight between three parties in 2014, Punjab is braced for a Congress rout.

Having won the state elections last year, Congress is set to repeat its performance in the assembly elections as well. They are projected to win 12 out of the 13 seats. BJP will face the misery of failing to open their account, but their ally SAD will save the NDA embarrassment by winning one seat. The AAP, which made lots of noise in 2014 as well as 2017 state elections, will draw blank.

Comparison to 2014:

In 2014, NDA, UPA and AAP shared seats amongst each other in a mouthwatering contest. But the situation has changed drastically this time around. The BJP, in alliance with SAD, won six seats and was the biggest party in the state in 2014. But they are projected to win a mere one seat if elections were to be held in December.

Congress had won three seats in the previous assembly elections, but this time around, a landslide win is projected. From the 13 seats, they are projected to win 12, an astonishing feat given their previous display.

The AAP, which had surprised everyone winning four seats, is set to face the reality, having been projected to win zero in Punjab this time around. 

Prediction in October and November:

In October, it was projected as a comfortable and landslide win for present ruling party in the state, Congress. They were predicted to win 12 of the 13 seats, with a vote share of 41.7 percent. NDA was projected to fall down to a mere 1, with BJP drawing blank and SAD saving the face for the alliance with the only seat. AAP was the biggest loser from the projections, going down from 4 seats to 0 and also witnessing a fall in their vote share

The situation was same in November, with the parties projected to win the same number of seats which was predicted in October. The only difference was in terms of vote share.