Is this a reflection of regional pride, historical tradition, or something else?
Opinion
National population share of Punjab in the country is 2.29 percent. Still, personnel below officer rank in the army have an 8% contribution from Punjab.
In Nihal Singh Wala, Congress candidate Bhupinder Singh Sahoke got 27,172 votes (19.4%) in 2022 and finished third, far behind AAP and even behind the Akalis. For Congress, this was a sharp fall in a rural seat. This raises a blatant question, did Bhupinder Singh Sahoke lose mainly because Congress is weak on the ground or did voters clearly move away from the party itself ? And looking at 2027, does this vote share give him something to build on or does it show how hard it will be for Congress to come back here ?
निहाल सिंह वाला में कांग्रेस उम्मीदवार भूपिंदर सिंह साहोके को 2022 में 27,172 वोट (19.4%) मिले और वह तीसरे स्थान पर रहे। वह न केवल आम आदमी पार्टी से बहुत पीछे रहे, बल्कि अकाली दल से भी पीछे रहे। कांग्रेस के लिए यह एक ग्रामीण सीट पर बड़ी गिरावट थी। यह एक सीधा सवाल खड़ा करता है, क्या भूपिंदर सिंह साहोके, की हार की वजह कांग्रेस की कमजोर ज़मीनी संगठन क्षमता थी या फिर मतदाताओं ने साफ तौर पर कांग्रेस से दूरी बना ली है ? और 2027 की ओर देखते हुए, क्या यह वोट शेयर आगे कुछ बनाने की गुंजाइश देता है या यह दिखाता है कि यहां कांग्रेस की वापसी कितनी मुश्किल होगी ?
In Bassi Pathana, Former Congress MLA Gurpreet Singh (GP) won in 2017 but fell hard in 2022, getting only 16,177 votes (14.43%) while AAP crossed 54,000 votes. In 2024, he joined AAP, blaming Congress for “lack of discipline” and praising Bhagwant Mann. Did GP change parties because he believed in AAP or because voters had already moved away from him ? If people rejected him once, can a new party label change that ? And when tickets are decided, will AAP see him as strength or as baggage from 2022 ?
