Punjab politics is about to undergo a great churn. The Akali Dal will try to go back to where it was in the 1980s – presenting itself as the main party in Punjab that’s taking on an increasingly authoritarian Centre.
The most vulnerable might be AAP as it has been benefitting from disgruntled Akali voters.
The BJP will also now be compelled to expand on its own in Punjab. This is easier said than done. The farm Bills have made the party the worst enemy of farmers, who are a huge votebank in the state. It may even cost them support among grain merchants, who are predominantly Hindu and a traditional votebank of the BJP. Then the only cards left with the BJP would be Hindutva, national security and support of Deras.
The Congress, especially Captain Amarinder Singh, would have to play its cards deftly to avoid its worst nightmare – Hindu consolidation behind BJP, Sikhs decisively moving…