Last Update: May 13, 2023, 2:42 pm IST
AAP workers celebrate the victory of party candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat bypoll. (PTI)
AAP also managed to tarnish the image of the Delhi ruling party during the campaign. While the strategy for the elections was drawn up by Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, he chose to stay in the background to make it look like a local leadership campaign
The battle for supremacy in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had become not just a prestige issue but an almost existential one and the victory of its candidate has restored its presence in the Lok Sabha.
The party’s candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku won impressively and wrested the seat from the Congress by a margin of 58,947. The party’s only seat in the Lok Sabha (Sangrur) during the current term of Parliament was lost in a by-election last year. The seat was represented by Bhagwant Mann, who had stepped down after becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab. The party was pushed to victory after a shock defeat in Sangrur, just months after its stupendous victory in the assembly elections.
The party had put in full force to win. Both Mann and party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did several rounds of roadshows. Not only this, every minister was given the responsibility of managing voters in 10 villages. Almost all the MLAs and ministers of the party remained firm in Jalandhar, turning the Jalandhar by-election into a battle of prestige. One minister each was made in-charge of one of the nine assembly constituencies.
At the grassroots level, municipal councilors and sarpanches were engaged to mobilize voters on the day of polling. The polling percentage also suggested that while AAP managed to bring out its voters, other parties failed to enthuse them. One leader remarked, “It was almost as if the BJP was bringing in Panna Pramukhs to drive out voters.”
Giving 300 units of free electricity to domestic consumers and filling up long-standing vacancies in the government sector also worked in the party’s favour. The party managed to fend off the opposition’s attack on the Latifpura incident in Jalandhar, the video leak and a complaint of sexual misconduct by a minister and a local party leader in Moga. The party also managed to negate the adverse publicity generated by the blasts in Amritsar on the eve of the elections.
Analysts believe that the party’s top leadership also worked to their advantage by gaining access to important ‘deras’ in a reserved constituency. The ‘Deras’ have a huge influence on the voters of this region. “We had a focused campaign and we knew that our performance over the years should speak for itself. There is a groundswell of support for us and it is reflected in this massive victory,” said Harpal Cheema, minister and election in-charge of the constituency.
AAP also managed to tarnish the image of the Delhi ruling party during the campaign. While the strategy for the elections was drawn up by Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, he chose to stay in the background to make it look like a local leadership campaign. “Local leaders were at the forefront and they were connecting with voters. The opposition’s allegation had completely weakened,” remarked a leader.
