JALANDHAR: Apart from other things, the result of Sangrur byelection - which has surprised and shocked many as it is unprecedented for the incumbent party to lose a byelection just after getting a sweeping mandate in the assembly elections - has confirmed that wrongdoings, inefficiency and blunders of previous incumbents are not enough for the ruling party to thrive in Punjab as voters want results.
Though this restlessness among voters has been visible in Punjab over eight years and of which Aam Aadmi Party became biggest beneficiary first in 2014 parliamentary elections and now in the assembly elections, Sangrur results also reflect that once a considerable section of voters has come out of the permanent loyalty to parties and is in 'teaching a lesson' mode, they can be short on patience while watching the performance of the incumbent government.
Though restlessness has been visible through mass mobilisations also in the last one decade, from the issue of Sikh political prisoners to sacrilege incidents and then farm movement, its manifestation has remained peaceful and people "teaching lessons" in elections.
The catastrophic events of 1984 had helped Parkash Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal for a long time as for a major section of Sikhs, Congress had become untouchable. Though Badal returned to power for a record fifth time and for a consecutive term in 2012, his party faced a lot of questions before 2014 parliamentary polls on performance issues. Even senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley lost the election from Amritsar and AAP got four MPs from Punjab when it failed to get any in rest of the country.
Now the type of questioning AAP government is facing, which has manifested through Sangrur result, it reflects that strong criticism of Badals and Congress may not be enough, as people would now be judging AAP solely on its performance.
