Continuing our analysis of the Punjab elections, we spoke to Ramesh Vinayak for a post-mortem of the results. Here is a summary of what he said about AAP's performance:
On the face of it, AAP did very well to win 20 seats in Punjab - it is a moral victory for the party to earn enough seats to become the main opposition party in the very first elections it has contested, leaving the established SAD-BJP coalition way behind in the hustings.
That said, it also feels like AAP leadership made some critical errors of judgement, which may have cost them the Punjab elections. I was present at the Maghi mela at Muktsar sahib last year, and the AAP wave was so palpable, that everyone felt they may well form the next government in Punjab. It seems that this wave of goodwill made Aam Admi party so over-confident and arrogant, that they made one mistake after another in the political battlefield of Punjab.
Here's what went wrong:
1. They had no political organisational structure in Punjab and failed to harness "local" Punjabi leadership
2. Eviction of Sucha Singh Chhotepur from the party was a turning point, which caused an internal split and hurt AAP in a big way.
3. They failed to secure Navjot Singh Sidhu in their ranks, when they had a chance.
4. Delhi leadership micro-managed the Punjab campaign - so much so that a senior AAP leader told me, the Punjab leaders weren't even allowed to put their photos on their campaign posters.
5. The party had no Chief Ministerial candidate in Punjab and seeing Arvind Kejriwal's omnipresence in the campaign, people were confused whether he himself may assume the role.
6. A major factor for AAP's loss was its deal with radical elements in Punjab. That was a huge blunder, which created a wave of fear in the average Punjabi (both in the moderate Sikh voters and the urban Hindu voters), especially after the bomb blast at Maur Mandi.
7. The people of Punjab seemed to have voted for the "tried and tested" leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh, rather than give a chance to the inexperienced new party, which was being labelled an "outsider" in Punjab.
I also believe that AAP's inability to garner enough votes to form a government in Punjab will stall party convener Arvind Kejriwal's national ambitions for now. The party has also failed to make a mark in the Goa elections, which means that its influence remains limited to Delhi for now.
Mr Ramesh Vinayak is the Resident Editor of Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, who has providied expert analysis of various issues relating to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections 2017. The views expressed here are those of Mr Ramesh Vinayak, not of SBS's: you can hear his interview by clicking on the link above.
Mr Ramesh Vinayak, RE Hindustan Times, Chandigarh Source: Supplied
