Chandigarh: In January 2022, with barely a month to go for the meeting elections in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) had launched a catchy Punjabi track to be performed at its conferences and rallies: Ik mauka Kejriwal nu…ik mauka Bhagwant Mann nu… (Give one likelihood to Kejriwal, one likelihood to Bhagwant Mann…) The main focus of the ballot marketing campaign was on AAP nationwide convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, with Mann as his protégé in a subordinate function.
Two years later, forward of the overall election, the AAP in Punjab has made a transparent shift in its ballot technique.
On Monday, Kejriwal launched the celebration’s ballot marketing campaign in Punjab with the slogan sansad vich vee Bhagwant Mann, Khushaal Punjab dee vadhegi shaan (Bhagwant Mann for Parliament, too…affluent Punjab will rise in glory).
Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur, a professor on the Division of Political Science, DAV Faculty, Chandigarh, stated, “This is not something new, though it is most prominently visible now after the poll campaign slogan has been announced. Kejriwal has been relegated to backseat driving in Punjab politics for several months now. The prime reason has been the manner in which the Enforcement Directorate is gunning for Kejriwal, making his position within AAP precarious.”
She added: “Also, Bhagwant Mann has managed to successfully project an image of being entirely in control of his state and government. He has led an offensive and dominant attack against the Opposition. He has clearly emerged as a bold and confident leader who doesn’t need to play second fiddle to Kejriwal.”
Launching the marketing campaign in Mohali Monday, Kejriwal stated, “In Punjab, we have to win all 13 seats…We do not want these 13 seats for ourselves but for your children…These 13 MPs will be the 13 arms of Bhagwant Mann who will then make sure that the voice of Punjab is heard in Parliament.”
In distinction, forward of the 2022 meeting elections in Punjab, Kejriwal had began campaigning within the state nearly a 12 months earlier than the elections have been due. He was not solely main the marketing campaign in public conferences, highway exhibits and rallies, however was additionally the one rolling out ballot guarantees within the type of ‘Kejriwal ki guarantee’. Virtually your entire election marketing campaign was run with Kejriwal’s posters in all places.
Mann accompanied him to assemble crowds however was not made the face of the marketing campaign. He was introduced because the chief ministerial candidate solely in January 2022, a month earlier than the precise voting was to happen.
Kaur stated: “The party’s strategy in the assembly elections was to keep Mann in the background till the very end. Mann, because of his drinking habits, could have become an easy target for opponents and spoiled AAP’s entire campaign. Very little time was given to opponents to attack Mann personally.”
She added: “For the general elections now, it is Kejriwal who is on the back foot and an easy target for the Opposition because of his alleged involvement in the Delhi liquor scam, for which the ED has sent him multiple notices, and the fear of his arrest looms large. The party seems to have decided that Kejriwal should be focusing his attention mainly in Delhi.”
In the meantime, on Friday, the celebration launched its Lok Sabha ballot marketing campaign from Delhi with the slogan sansad mein bhi Kejriwal, tabhee Dilli hogee aur khushahaal (‘Kejriwal in Parliament too, Delhi will be even more prosperous’).
Political analyst Baljit Balli instructed ThePrint that the ability shift to Mann from Kejriwal was seen in AAP’s public conferences in Punjab. “The minute Mann ends his speech, people in the gathering start leaving, having little interest in hearing Kejriwal,” stated Balli.
Additionally learn: Mann’s political transformation in AAP: From ‘in-house entertainer’ to a digital quantity 2
