CHANDIGARH: Amid the intensifying campaign for the Haryana Assembly Elections, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa, who has also been appointed as an senior observer by the AICC for the Haryana elections, asserted on Saturday that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will fail to win even a single seat in the upcoming polls. Bajwa attributed this bleak forecast to AAP’s poor governance record in Punjab.
“Haryana shares a deep connection with Punjab, and its people are fully cognizant of the AAP government's dismal track record, particularly its mishandling of the farmers' protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders. The voters of Haryana have already resolved to deliver a humiliating defeat to the party that betrayed the farmers of both states, ” Bajwa declared.
Taking a swipe at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Bajwa accused him of perpetuating lies regarding employment figures in the state. "The CM frequently claims to have provided employment to 40, 000 youths, yet AAP Cabinet Minister Aman Arora has admitted that only 5, 500 jobs have been created. Despite multiple demands for transparency, the Chief Minister has failed to produce any verifiable data to back his employment claims, ” Bajwa added.
Bajwa further criticized Mann's leadership, stating that the people of Punjab, much like those of Delhi, have grown weary of AAP's governance. He urged AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal to consider replacing Mann as Chief Minister of Punjab in light of the growing disillusionment among the electorate.
The senior Congress leader also highlighted the financial mismanagement under AAP's rule. “Before the Punjab Assembly elections, AAP pledged not to take on additional debt. However, in just 2.5 years, they have added ₹1.30 lakh crore in debt, a burden that Punjabis will ultimately have to bear. Kejriwal had promised to generate ₹20, 000 crore in revenue from mining, yet under the AAP regime, they have barely managed to raise ₹200 crore annually.”
Bajwa also took aim at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that the party’s government in Haryana has completely failed over the past decade. "Farmers in Haryana, angered by the BJP’s apathy and mishandling of agrarian issues, are not even allowing BJP candidates to enter their villages. This growing resistance is a testament to the BJP’s failure to address the concerns of the people, " Bajwa remarked, underlining the groundswell of discontent against the BJP in rural Haryana.