Punjab Assembly session ends with Opposition protests outside, 2027 fight on
Outnumbered by AAP's 94 MLAs, the Congress and BJP took their fight to the Vidhan Sabha complex, and the 2027 election campaign is clearly underway.
The six-day Punjab Vidhan Sabha session ended today. The sharpest political action happened outside the House, where the Congress and the BJP used the complex to take on the Aam Aadmi Party government ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
The numbers explain why. AAP holds 94 of the 117 seats, so the government never risked losing a vote. With little room to compete inside, the Opposition went for visibility on the premises instead.
The Congress ran the louder campaign. Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and newly appointed state Congress president Pargat Singh led party MLAs in demonstrations. They burnt effigies of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and of the broom, AAP's election symbol.
On the final day, the Congress's Sukhpal Singh Khaira was suspended from the House. Party legislators gathered and tried to enter the Assembly with him, but Vidhan Sabha staff stopped them. The scene captured the standoff between the ruling party and the main Opposition.
The BJP has just two MLAs, so it leaned on star power. Former state party chief Sunil Jakhar and former Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu pushed the party's message on law and order and the alleged drug menace.
Mann, for his part, set out his pitch for the next election. On Friday he gave a detailed speech on why AAP opposes the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and alleged that his stand led to harassment at Delhi airport. Today he said, "We will now go to the people with the work we have done and our agenda for the future," adding that AAP would contest "with a positive outlook" and let voters pick the roadmap they prefer.
Two smaller players barely registered. The Shiromani Akali Dal has three MLAs, but two have rebelled against the leadership and the third, Ganieve Kaur Majithia, stayed away all session. The BSP's lone MLA, Nachhatar Pal, backed AAP on some key issues. That leaves the Congress as AAP's most visible challenger, with the BJP trying to be heard.
Source: The Tribune.
