Punjab elections 2022: From big upsets to Congress' debacle, here are 5 key takeaways

Notwithstanding all odds, Aam Ami Party has scripted history by winning a whopping 92 seats in 2022 Punjab elections- which is single-highest number of seats won by any party since reorganization of state in 1966. This was also a massive jump from its 2017 tally of 20 seats. Moreover, Arvind Kejriwal-led party garnered over 42% of vote share as against Congress, which got barely 22% of total votes. Buoyed by AAP's stupendous performance, Kejriwal also laid bare his national ambitions by calling upon people to bring about a revolution in India. 

Here are key takeaways from Punjab election:

• Congress heavyweights bite dust

To begin with, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi lost from both seats which he contested in Assembly election. This includes Chamkaur Sahib, which he represented in Assembly since 2007. In this constituency, he was defeated by his namesake Dr. Charanjit Singh of AAP with a margin of over 7,833 votes. An eye surgeon by profession, Dr. Singh h lost to Channi by a margin of 12,308 votes in this constituency in 2017 Assembly election.

Similarly, CM faced defeat in Bhaur, a seat that was won by AAP in previous polls as well. This time, AAP's Labh Singh Ugoke trounced him by more than 37,220 votes. Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu also faced embarrassment as he lost to AAP's Jeevan Jyot Kaur by 6750 votes. This came even as contest was largely perceived as a faceoff between Sidhu and S general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia. Barring for Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Pargat Singh, Tript Bajwa, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Rana Gurjeet Singh, all or 12 Ministers lost from ir respective seats.

• 3-ex CMs face a humiliating defeat

In a setback for newly formed Punjab Lok Congress, its leer and former CM Captain Amarinder Singh lost from his bastion of Patiala Urban- a seat which he has won 4 times in past. AAP's Ajit Pal Singh Kohli defeated him by a margin of 19,697 votes. S patriarch Parkash Singh Bal also lost in Lambi to AAP's Gurmeet Singh Khudian by 11,357 votes.  94-year-old politician is a 10-time MLA who holds record of being youngest and oldest CM of any state in India. He has only lost an Assembly election once- in 1967. Similarly, Congress' Lehra candidate and former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal also failed to win. 

• S-BSP fails to make an impact

oldest ally of BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal h walked out of NDA in 2020 after passage of three farm laws in Parliament. Despite repeal of this contentious legislation in December last year, S chose to ally with BSP in order to woo Dalit voters in state. ditionally, it was seeking to take vantage of infighting in Congress and was first party to declare its CM candidate. However, it managed to win only three seats with its vote share falling from 25.2% in 2017 to just over 18%. BSP also me a marginal impact winning in only a single constituency while garnering a vote share of less than 2%. 

• New low for Congress

In end, Congress managed to bag only 18 seats, which was 49 seats less than its 2017 tally. This is  lowest ever tally for Sonia Gandhi-led party post 1997 election. Its vote share too fell from 38.64% in previous Assembly polls to about 23% this time. Though Congress has 8 Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab, its poll debacle might give rise to possibility of dissident parliamentarians such as Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur switching allegiance to anor party. Furrmore, party might not be able to retain its three Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab. 

• Malwa edge

Tritionally, Malwa has played a key role in deciding outcome of Punjab election as it covers 69 Assembly segments. In last 2017 election, Congress h won 40 seats in this region reby helping it cross halfway mark. However, AAP caused a major upset as it wrested 66 of 69 seats in Malwa in current election. On or hand, its candidates emerged victorious in 17 and 9 seats of Majha and Doaba respectively. Despite being epicentre of anti-farm laws protests, Malwa did not witness any significant gain for newly floated Sanyukt Samaj Morcha.