The Akali-BJP alliance created history in Punjab on Tuesday by recapturing power in the state. No party in the state has done this since the Reorganisation of Punjab in 1967. The below-par performance of the Congress could also be attributed to the fact that it relied too much on history in their bid for victory.
The Congress seemed to have taken victory for granted and its leaders certainly failed to put in that extra effort to match a very long and sustained Akali campaign. That the state Congress failed to come out with a positive agenda, and instead tried to attack only Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s, did not help. Capt. Singh, portrayed by the Akalis as a “hedonistic Maharaja” and “not easily accessible to the public”, failed to change this perception.
An one important factor that contributed to the SAD victory is that election management was well thought out and well executed. Also, the fact that CM Parkash Singh Badal as well as SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal were accessible through Sangat Darshan programmes created a perception in the public mind that the leadership was easily accessible.