There have been hushed whispers in political circles of Punjab that AAP was going to sweep the civic polls. What was hitherto only in political predictions, has come true with Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, making a telling poll debut in the Chandigarh MC elections. AAP took a clear lead over the BJP, followed by the Congress, soon after the counting of votes began.
Encouraged by the response, AAP called it the local civic poll results, as "the trailer" of the Punjab Assembly elections which are due next year. At the nine counting centres that were set up for the counting of 35 wards. With the increase in the number of wards from 26 to 35, this time there will be a total of 35 councillors in the house. The elections are held, once in every five years and the polling percentage this year stood at 60.45 per cent.
AAP scored a neat 14 seats, while the BJP won 12 seats, Congress eight and Shiromani Akali Dal had to make do with one seat. The election has been a huge setback for BJP, Congress, and even SAD, all of which lock horns every five years. AAP debuting this time was already a strong contender for the MC elections.
The big question
After the win, the next big question weighing on everyone's minds remains whether these can be considered a barometer of the Assembly Elections that are next in line. AAP for one has clearly called them a projection of people's approval of their party.
Raghav Chadha, spokesperson for AAP, in a jubilant mood, said, "The Chandigarh election is a trailer, Punjab will be the full movie. The mood in Chandigarh is the mood of Punjab. All are voting for AAP. Initial trends prove that people have decided to give a chance to Arvind Kejriwal."
