Party Hoppers May Be Moral Boosting Factor but Arvind Kejriwal Remains Major Force in Punjab

Punjab Elections are ahead and party hoppers are finding Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lead by their charismatic leader Arvind Kejriwal one of the prime targets. Many notable leaders like Navjot Singh Sidhu and Surendra Singh Sodhi have left Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) heading towards AAP. These people may be morale boosters for the AAP but the premier force that can lead the party on the path of success is their leader Arvind Kejriwal.

Almost every expert and pre-poll surveys indicate landslide victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 2017 Punjab polls. That is why many prominent people from both Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) are now heading towards AAP as they consider it as an attractive option for them.

Of course getting people like Navjot Singh Sidhu in their ranks can be morale booster for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) because he has a track record of winning elections and he enjoys great popularity in Punjab. The former India cricketer and now one of the commentators who idolize Narendra Modi leaving the BJP would also be a jolt for the ruling party in the state of Punjab. However, for this the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) can only blame themselves, as they denied Sidhu the Loksabha tickets from Amritsar and fielded Arun Jaitley instead from there despite the fact that Jaitley had lost the election to Captain Amrinder Singh the state president of Indian National Congress (INC) in the state of Punjab. BJP tried to pacify Sidhu by offering him Rajyasabha seat but to no avail.

Exit of Sidhu from BJP may be followed by other stalwarts including his wife Navjot Singh Kaur, and also niece of Bhagat Singh Grujit Sigh Dhathh, Pargat Singh, and Surinder Singh Sodhi among others.

While the joining of these stalwarts may be morale booster for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) one cannot ignore the fact that is already a huge wave in favour of the party in Punjab because of the charismatic image of its leader Arvind Kejriwal who continues to be the most popular public figure today. Even stalwarts like Captain Amrinder Singh from the Indian National Congress (INC) lead by Sonia Gandhi cannot match the stature of Kejriwal.

At the same time Narendra Modi lead BJP Government in centre is apprehensive of the possible victory of Arvind and his party in Punjab toppling their ruling alliance there. Perhaps Modi and his Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) were a little over confident on the eve of the disastrous performance of AAP in the Gujarat Lok Sabha elections where they could master only 2% of the votes. But situation in Punjab and Goa are totally different.

It seems that electors in both the states as well as in many parts of India have been realizing that they have an alternative to the leading national political parties in AAP and they are also expectant of substantial reduction in the corruption levels in their areas with AAP in power. At the same time they are also seeing through the ploys of national parties to demean the stature of Arvind Kejriwal and they feel that these parties dominating the political scenario solely or with alliances for such long no more have the true answers to their problems.

Poll results in Punjab and Goa may have the answers.