EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.VINAY KOCHHAR/CHANDIGARH.
The Panthic vote bank has been a driving force in Punjab politics for decades, maintaining the Shiromani Akali Dal as the strongest political force in the state. Of the state’s approximately 58% Sikh population, 20% to 25% voters consider religious issues as the basis for voting.
Over the past decade, this traditional vote bank has completely disintegrated. Now, the Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Waris Punjab De, BJP, and Congress are also seeking political foothold in this vote. This shift is clearly visible in the electoral data of the past three decades.
The sacrilege and firing incidents have changed the political climate.
In the 1997 assembly elections, the Akali Dal won 37.64% of the vote and 75 seats. The party returned to power in 2007 with 37.09 percent of the vote and in 2012 with 34.73 percent of the vote, proving its dominance over Panthic politics. However, the 2015 desecration of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the Behbal Kalan police firing rapidly changed the political landscape.
In the 2017 assembly elections, the Akali Dal’s vote share fell to 25.24 percent, reducing the party to 15 seats. This decline further accelerated in 2022, with the party securing only three seats with 18.38 percent of the vote.
The loss of separating from the BJP
Fighting separately from the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections reduced its vote share to 13.5 percent, and the party won only the Bathinda seat. These election results revealed the fragmentation of the Akali Dal’s traditional Panthic base. According to political analysts, the 2015 sacrilege controversy and the controversy surrounding the pardon of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim were a major blow to the Akali Dal’s credibility.
Accusations of nepotism and development-oriented politics also disheartened its traditional workers. The Aam Aadmi Party capitalized on this vacuum. In the 2022 assembly elections, the party raised the issue of justice in the sacrilege cases. By projecting Bhagwant Mann as a local Jatt-Sikh face, it significantly dented the Akali Dal’s vote bank in the Majha and Malwa regions.
The Rise of Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections presented a challenge for the Aam Aadmi Party to maintain support. Amritpal Singh’s landslide victory in Khadoor Sahib signaled a new polarization of the Panthic vote. Meanwhile, the Waris Punjab De organization and its leader, Amritpal Singh, brought a new twist to Punjab politics.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while in jail, Amritpal Singh contested as an independent candidate from Khadoor Sahib, garnering 4.04 lakh votes and winning by a record margin of nearly 1.97 lakh votes. This victory signaled the acceptance of the new leadership by the staunchly religious and young Panthic voters. Waris Punjab De highlighted issues such as the release of imprisoned Sikhs, the anti-drug campaign, and Sikh identity. Political analysts believe that the Shiromani Akali Dal has suffered the biggest loss, as its traditional rural Jatt-Sikh base is rapidly shifting to the party.###USA###UK###CANADA###PUNJAB-POLITICS-NEWS###PUNJAB###CHANDIGARH###INDIA###AUSTRALIA###GERMANY###IRELAND###SWEDEN###EUROPE###CHINA###HUNGRY###FRANCE###ITLAY###ROME###RUSSIA###UKRAINE###VIETNAM###SINGAPORE###@