Punjab elections 2017: AAP cadres enthused about Saturday

CHANDIGARH: AAP cadres were quite enthused on Thursday after exit polls predicted that the Punjab had voted for a change, with some giving clear majority to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Putting up a bold face, leaders of traditional rivals — the Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress — felt that AAP’s rise would be at the cost of the main rival and not their own party. Many felt that Dera Sacha Sauda’s open backing for the SADBJP alliance changed the political maths at the last moment.

“Had it been a contest between the traditional rivals, the gainers would have been the latter. With the AAP in fray for the first time, rural Sikh voters, considered to be loyal to Akalis, may have shifted their loyalties to the new party,” says political scientist Surinder Shukla from Panjab University in Chandigarh.

Punjab recorded a high turnout of 77.4% on February 4. The Malwa belt, which accounts for 69 out of the 117 assembly seats, will decide the fate of the next government in the state.