Two States, One Divide

While Punjab went against the saffron wave and voted Congress into power in the state, Haryana was swept by the ‘Modi Magic’ again

- Asit Jolly

Firmly living up to their reputation of bucking the national (or in this instance, the north Indian) trend, Punjabis have once again voted for the Congress, while most of India overwhelmingly voted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA back to a second consecutive term in office.

The Punjab Congress, headed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was helped by two factors: Firstly, both, the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were afflicted with factionalism. Where several veterans quit SAD to float a splinter faction, AAP too was reduced to a shadow of its former self with incumbent legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira and the party’s Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi launching separate outfits. The consequent split in both put several Congress nominees, including Preneet Kaur in Patiala, in the lead.