Punjab election 2022 result: AAP will form govt, no reason to doubt exit polls: Cheema

The AAP was also tipped to outdo all other political parties in the 2017 Assembly polls with various exit polls giving it a huge lead over the Congress and the SAD but the party failed to come anywhere near the projected figure and had to settle for 20 MLAs in the 117-seat Assembly.

Five years on, there is a feeling of déjà vu as far as the exit polls are concerned with most of them declaring that AAP is sweeping the elections or at least emerging as the single largest party with the closest claim of forming the government. However, notwithstanding the last experience, the AAP leaders say that the atmosphere in 2022 is totally different and that the other parties will be trounced at the counting centres.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Harpal Singh Cheema, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, said, “There is no question of having last-minute anxiety. I have just come back after an outing with my daughter. AAP will comfortably form the government and there is no reason to doubt the findings of the exit polls.”

Cheema hit out at SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for saying that the exit polls on the television channels were a ‘paid survey’ and said the Congress and SAD camps were totally dejected knowing that the writing was on the wall for them tomorrow.

“Poll surveys reflect the views of the people and although the picture will be clear after counting of votes tomorrow, the leaders of traditional parties like Sukhbir Badal cannot control their apprehensiveness,” said Cheema.

Speaking to mediapersons at the Mohali airport, AAP Punjab co-incharge and Delhi MLA Raghav Chadha said AAP has emerged as a national political force in the present elections. “It took BJP 10 years to form their first government in a state. It is not even 10 years since AAP’s inception and we are forming government in two states. AAP will be Congress’s national and natural replacement,” he said.

AAP candidates across the state have also expressed their satisfaction that the party is doing well in the polls and that the results will be as per their expectations. Sitting MLA from Kotkapura Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that there was no cause for harbouring any doubts and that the party will do as good as is expected. “We will have a comfortable majority undoubtedly,” he said.

At Dhuri, from where he is contesting the Assembly elections, the CM face of the party, Bhagwant Mann, said that the Congress and SAD have just one more day to make wild allegations regarding exit polls. “Tomorrow their game will be up,” said Mann to mediapersons.

Mann also visited Patiala and inspected the strong rooms where EVMs from several constituencies are stored ahead of the counting. Addressing AAP workers, Mann said the hard work of the party cadres will pay off with AAP forming the next state government.

The lone prominent Hindu face of the party and sitting MLA from Sunam, Aman Arora, said that AAP will form the next government. “God will be kind. The feedback from all sides is positive,” said Arora.
In case the confidence of AAP leadership is not misplaced and the party does indeed win enough seats to stake a claim to form the government, it will be one of the most miraculous comebacks for a political party.

Since 2017, AAP has only been able to win a solitary Lok Sabha seat, retained by Bhagwant Mann, and has put up a dismal show in every byelection or local bodies elections. The party also saw widespread desertions with MLAs crossing over to Congress and the effective strength of AAP in the Assembly was reduced to half of what it was in 2017.