Punjab: One-fourth of Congress & SAD aspirants lose deposit
CHANDIGARH: Aam Aadmi Party, which won 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly with 42.01% vote share, was in second position in the 10 seats it lost. Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were second in 47 segments each and BJP in eight. Also, most of the seats AAP won were earlier with Congress. It snatched 62 seats from the grand old party, as 27% of Congress and 26% of SAD candidates forfeited security deposits.
In the Majha region of the state, which has 25 seats, SAD was in second position in 13 seats and Congress in nine. AAP was second in two seats and BJP one. In Doaba region, which has 23 seats, Congress finished in second position in nine seats, SAD in six, AAP in seven seats and BJP in one seat.
In the most important Malwa region, which has 69 seats, Congress was in second position in 29 seats, SAD in 28, BJP in six and AAP in one seat. Then, SAD (Amritsar) was in second place in two seats, Punjab Lok Congress in one (Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh). Also, one independent candidate, Lakha Singh Sadhana, was second in Maur. Parminder Singh Dhindsa of SAD (Sanyukt) was also a second.
Other than the 62 from Congress, AAP took away 10 seats from SAD and two from Lok Insaaf Party (LIP). Notably, AAP had won 20 seats in 2017. On the other hand, BJP lost all the three seats it had won in the last elections, but the two it won this time were won by Congress in 2017. The three seats SAD won were with AAP earlier.
Particularly disappointing for SAD and Congress — the parties to have dominated Punjab politics for decades — is the number of their candidates who lost security deposits. Anyone who fails to secure 16.66% of votes cast loses that deposit. It will be intersting to see how they fight back from this setback.
Political analyst Professor Jagrup Singh Sekhon said that the way people voted for AAP, it was natural that the vote share of the other parties would be adversely impacted.