The poll bugle of the Lok Sabha Election 2024 has formally been blown with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reaching a consensus with the Congress over seat sharing in multiple states and union territories. Once an arch-rival, the Congress and AAP along with other opposition parties under the I.N.D.I.A umbrella to take on the formidable saffron force led by the Bharatiya Janata Party's alliance of the NDA. While the BJP-led NDA alliance is expecting an easy victory in multiple states, Punjab is turning out to be a stronghold of the opposition block especially due to the newly revived farmers' protest 2024. Having a total of 13 Lok Sabha seats, Punjab may dent PM Modi's call for 'Abki Baar 370 Paar'.
As compared to Lok Sabha Election 2019, the political landscape of Punjab has changed. Despite an alliance in other states, there has been no handshake between the AAP and Congress. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has already announced that AAP will contest on all 13 seats alone. Therefore, Congress and AAP both are at loggerheads in Punjab. Talking about the BJP, multiple reports suggest that they are in talks with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). However, the BJP-SAD alliance seems unlikely as farmers protest 2024 are going on and the Badal group has often been critical of the Modi Government. Another regional party is the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Punjab Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to announce the official Lok Sabha Election 2024 schedule. However, if the ECI follows its 2019 pattern, Punjab Lok Sabha Election 2024 schedule can be revealed. ECI usually organises the Lok Sabha Elections in Punjab in the later half of the election period, which was also the case during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. If ECI decides to continue with the conventional path, the expected month for the 18th Lok Sabha Elections in Punjab can be May of 2024. Since Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha Constituencies, polling is generally conducted in 1 phase. Therefore, it can be said that Punjab is likely to have its Lok Sabha polling in a single phase.
Talking more about constituencies, Punjab ranks 16th in the list of states with the most number of Lok Sabha seats among the Indian states. It has 13 seats out of which four seats are reserved for SC candidates, while nine seats are unreserved. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the Congress-led UPA alliance came out as the biggest alliance after winning eight seats, while NDA only managed to win four seats. The first-time contesting AAP were also able to win one seat for themselves.
Punjab Lok Sabha Seats & Candidates As Per 2019 General Elections
- Gurdaspur - Sunny Deol (BJP)
- Amritsar- Gurjeet Singh Aujla (Congress)
- Khadoor Sahib- Jasbir Singh Gill (Congress)
- Jalandhar (SC)- Santokh Singh Chaudhary (Congress) He is dead & Sushil Rinku is now MP
- Hoshiarpur (SC)- Som Parkash (BJP)
- Anandpur Sahib- Manish Tiwari (Congress)
- Ludhiana- Ravneet Singh Bittu (Congress)
- Fatehgarh Sahib (SC) - Dr. Amar Singh (Congress)
- Faridkot (SC) - Muhammad Sadiq (Congress)
- Ferozpur- Sukhbir Singh Badal (SAD)
- Bathinda- Harsimrat Kaur Badal (SAD)
- Sangrur- Bhagwant Mann (AAP)
- Patiala- Preneet Kaur (Congress)
How Lok Sabha 2024 in Punjab is different from 2019?
The answer is the changing political landscape and the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it was the Congress-led UPA that enjoyed Punjab as a stronghold. However, in the current scenario, AAP has clearly bolstered its hold in Punjab. For instance, AAP candidate Sushil Rinku defeated his closest rival, Congress's Karamjit Kaur, the wife of Santokh Chaudhary, whose death during the Bharat Jodo Yatra necessitated the by-poll, by over 58,000 votes. Apart from this, AAP also handed over a defeat to the BJP in the controversial Chandigarh Mayoral Poll. While at first the BJP's candidate was declared a winner, later the Supreme Court of India held AAP as the ultimate winner. The opposition block called Chandigarh Mayoral election win I.N.D.I.A's official start of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Apart from the political landscape, Punjab will witness the parties fighting elections alone. For instance, the BJP is most likely to contest the elections alone without SAD, who decided to part ways with the NDA in 2023. AAP and INC, despite being the part of newly formed I.N.D.I.A alliance will be contesting the elections as opposition in Punjab.
It is pertinent to mention here that the official candidates list who will contest the Punjab Lok Saha Polls 2024 are yet to be unveiled. Therefore, True Scoop News will bring you the official list as soon as the parties announce it. However, it has been confirmed by Sunny Deol that he will not be contesting Lok Sabha Election 2024. It means the BJP will have to find a new star to contest from the Gurdaspur seat.