BJP will implement Gujarat model in Punjab – Bhagwant Mann’s tension will increase
The exercise to strengthen the BJP, which has been weakened in Punjab due to coalition politics for a long time, has started. Being a border state, Punjab is very important from all three points of view diplomatically, strategically and politically. Punjab is the only state in the whole of North India which seems to be far away from the reach of the BJP, so it will work on preparing its ground in the state and then working on its election campaign strategy.
The BJP leadership has entrusted the command of this campaign to Vijay Rupani, the former Chief Minister of Gujarat and the new in-charge of the state. In the current political scenario, Punjab is the weakest link of the BJP in North India. Due to being in alliance with the Akali Dal in the state for a long time, the BJP has never been able to function properly here in the entire state.
In the alliance, she was confined to only about two dozen seats in the assembly and one-fourth of the Lok Sabha seats. But now after breaking the alliance with Akali Dal, the party is working on its expansion plan. In Punjab, the alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal was formed for the first time in 1997, which broke in the last assembly elections. In 1997 itself, for the first time, the BJP formed a coalition government with the Akali Dal.
The BJP contested 23 assembly seats (117 total) and three Lok Sabha seats (13 total) while in alliance. The BJP’s biggest success in the assembly came in the 2007 elections, when the party won 19 out of 23 seats. Earlier in 1997, it had won 18 out of 23 seats. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP twice managed to win all the three seats it shared in the alliance. In 1998 and 2004, it won its share of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur seats.
Earlier in the Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP and Akali Dal had an alliance, the ruling Congress in the state had won eight out of 13 seats (40.12% votes), while the BJP and Akali Dal alliance got four seats (two each). Was. Akali Dal got 27.76 percent votes and BJP 9.63 percent votes, while Aam Aadmi Party got only one seat i.e. 7.38 percent votes.
The equations of the state had completely changed between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The farmers movement and Captain Amarinder Singh’s exit from the Congress were very important aspects. With this the alliance of BJP and Akali Dal was also broken. Now that the Aam Aadmi Party government has been formed in the state, then the concerns of the central government have increased. On the one hand, the intelligence inputs being received regarding the border state and the other Khalistani operation are considered to be very important. Apart from this, Punjab is a big challenge for the BJP politically as well. PLC/GT
