LS polls: Ruling AAP led in just 33 of 117 Assembly segments in Punjab

Chandigarh: The AAP, which faced a drubbing in the parliamentary polls in Punjab, could secure a lead in only 33 Assembly segments of the total 117, which are part of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, according to Election Commission data.

The party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections comes two years after the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit bagged 92 of 117 Assembly seats in the 2022 Assembly elections. The Congress dealt a body blow to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the opposition BJP and SAD, winning seven of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the high-stakes polls in Punjab even as two independents registered a surprise victory.

While the AAP clinched three seats, the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could win only one seat and the BJP drew a blank in the border state. According to an analysis of the Assembly-wise performance of the parties, the AAP could secure a lead only in 33 Assembly segments, while the Congress in 37, the BJP in 23 and the SAD in nine.

Eight Assembly segments of the Khadoor Sahib and seven of the Faridkot seat were led by independent candidates radical preacher Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa respectively. The AAP trailed even in the Assembly segments represented by some of the cabinet ministers.

It could manage to win just three Lok Sabha seats -- Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib and Sangrur -- falling way short of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s stated target of winning all 13 parliamentary constituencies of the state.