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

Notwithstanding all odds, Aam Aadmi Party has scripted history by winning a whopping 92 seats in the 2022 Punjab elections- which is the single-highest number of seats won by any party since the reorganization of the state in 1966. This was also a massive jump from its 2017 tally of 20 seats. Moreover, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party garnered over 42% of the vote share as against Congress, which got barely 22% of the 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 the key takeaways from the Punjab election:

• Congress heavyweights bite the dust

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

Similarly, the CM faced defeat in Bhadaur, a seat that was won by AAP in the 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 the contest was largely perceived as a faceoff between Sidhu and SAD general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia. Barring for Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Pargat Singh, Tript Bajwa, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Rana Gurjeet Singh, all other 12 Ministers lost from their respective seats.

• 3-ex CMs face a humiliating defeat

In a setback for the newly formed Punjab Lok Congress, its leader and former CM Captain Amarinder Singh lost from his bastion of Patiala Urban- a seat which he has won 4 times in the past. AAP's Ajit Pal Singh Kohli defeated him by a margin of 19,697 votes. SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal also lost in Lambi to AAP's Gurmeet Singh Khudian by 11,357 votes. The 94-year-old politician is a 10-time MLA who holds the record of being the 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. 

• SAD-BSP fails to make an impact

The oldest ally of BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal had walked out of NDA in 2020 after the passage of the three farm laws in the Parliament. Despite the repeal of this contentious legislation in December last year, SAD chose to ally with BSP in order to woo the Dalit voters in the state. Additionally, it was seeking to take advantage of the infighting in Congress and was the 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 made a marginal impact winning in only a single constituency while garnering a vote share of less than 2%. 

• New low for Congress

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

• The Malwa edge

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