Did Farm Stir Dent BJP's Future? More Than Saffron Party, How Punjab Civic Body Polls Harmed SAD Was it the farmer’s anger o...

Did Farm Stir Dent BJP's Future? More Than Saffron Party, How Punjab Civic Body Polls Harmed SAD

Was it the farmer’s anger or loss of an alliance partner that resulted in the BJP registering a disastrous performance in the recently held civic body polls? This is what the party leadership is trying to find answers to as they begin carrying out the post poll analysis.

As per the state election commission civic data, the BJP registered a vote share of six per cent in the 8 municipal corporations and over 100 nagarpalikas in the state. Interestingly, the party, in the 2017 assembly elections had managed a lesser 5.3 per cent vote share.

Noticeably, in the last assembly elections the party was in an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which had registered a vote share of 25.3 per cent. Together, the two parties had grabbed a vote share of 30.6 per cent. The Congress in the 2017 elections had captured 38.5 per cent vote share. In these civic body polls the SAD also registered a dismal 10 per cent vote share.

Though the vote share of both the BJP and the SAD was dismal but it was the latter whose vote share has dropped drastically than the former. "If you consider the vote share in assembly elections we got little over five per cent but this time we have gained, even if it's marginal. This is despite so many factors working against us like the farm laws and also state government using administrative machinery against us," claimed the General Secretary, Punjab BJP, Subhash Sharma.