The 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections are going on today on 20 February 2022 in Punjab to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. Over 2.14 crore voters will decide the fate of 1304 candidates in Punjab.
Congress is trying its best to retain to power, while, BJP, AAP, SAD and SKM are trying their best to become the ruling party in Punjab. Who will win, who will lose, it will be decided on March 10. All the Covid related protocols have been getting followed at all the polling stations. Voting started at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm. Tight security arrangements have been made during this time.
Let us tell you 5 interesting things about Punjab election 2022:
Victory in Malwa means victory in Punjab
Malwa is a region of India in the south-east of the state of Punjab and parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. The belt south of the Sutlej River sends 69 members to the Punjab Legislative Assembly. Whoever wins in this field has a good chance of forming the government. On the other hand, Majha region has 25 seats and is a stronghold of Sikh politics, while Doaba with 23 seats, where the Dalit vote, which is 45%, plays an important role.
Since 1966, no non-Sikh is appointed as Punjab CM
According to a survey by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies for the 2017 Punjab Assembly Elections, 53% of the respondents said that the CM need not be a Sikh. Sikh community in Punjab contributes 58 percent of population in Punjab.
Majithia Vs Sidhu breaks record
Amritsar East, Punjab's hottest seat, is also in Majha, where Punjab Congress head Navjot Sidhu is up against Akali Dal's Bikram Majithia. Both of these leaders have never lost an election in their political careers, and this can be their first.
Only hope for the Dalit count
Where there are 20 percent Dalits in UP, in which Saint Ravidas has a good influence. In Punjab, there are about 39 sub-classes of Dalits. There are also 5 sub-classes in which 80% of the Dalit population is included. Among the 5 sub-groups in Punjab, the Ravidasiyas also have the second largest number of religious Sikhs after 30 percent. In Punjab, they are close to about 24% of the total Dalit population. Most of their population is found in the Doaba region of Punjab. It includes districts like Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala. Charanjit Singh Channi is the first Dalit Chief Minister of the state. Political parties have high hopes from Dalit community.
Five-cornered contest in Punjab
This is the first time when it is a five-cornered contest to elect the ruling party in Punjab. Earlier it was a direct contest between the SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress. SAD dissolved its alliance with the BJP, which had lasted over two decades, over the controversial Farm Bills passed by the BJP-controlled Indian Parliament in 2020. On 13 June 2021, SAD and BSP announced an alliance for the assembly election with 97-20 seat sharing. On 28 December 2021, BJP, PLC and SAD(S) announced an alliance for the assembly elections. AAP is contesting on all the seats without any alliance.