CHANDIGARH: Punjab is all set to go to polls this year and with the Aam Aadmi Party placing its bet and trying to find its feet in the north, it has consistently been the flavour of the political scene in the state. Delhi Chief Minister and national convener of the party, Arvind Kejriwal, in his series of attempts to gain an upper hand against his opponents- the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine and the Congress, organised several events, including the historic Maghi Mela in Muktsar.
Addressing a mass turnout, Kejri hit out at the drug menace and promised to bring back Punjab's glory. The Mela was a major blow to Congress' Punjab president Capt Amarinder Singh, who was hoping to lead the party to victory. In response to the event, Amarinder soon hit the road with his 'Coffee with Captain' programme to appeal to the youth, which soon turned into a series of programmes like 'Halke vich Captain' as his mass contact programme. Amarinder made several promises, including smart phones for the youth, one job in every family, and a waiver of farmers' debt. The Captain enforced a rule of one-family-one-ticket, promised to do away with VIP culture.
Meanwhile, the SAD-BJP government resorted to its old vote-catching stints, including 'poll doles' with the state budget for the current fiscal announcing doubling of old age pensions, a free pilgrimage scheme, recruitment of over one lakh jobless youths, free utensils and free electricity to poor. The government regularised 27,000 contractual employees, initiated a facelift exercise for the historic cities, constructed memorials, rolled out its much-hyped amphibious bus. By the mid of the year, traditional parties-the SAD and Congress, found themselves knee-deep in trouble with the state government fighting double-incumbency, a drug menace that was getting out of hand, and the Badal family facing allegations of conflict of interest. The Congress was busy trying to reverse the 'anti-Congress' sentiment at the national level.
It was smooth sailing for AAP until August. When it revealed the first list of 19 candidates in the first week of the month, it unleashed revolt from most of the seats. Ever since then, AAP has been embroiled in controversies. It however, maintains to bring about change with its door to door campaigning and rallies across the state.
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