What Does AAP's Performance in Chandigarh Signal About Upcoming Assembly Polls?

Would AAP be able to replicate the same result across Punjab & what does the decline in seat share mean for the BJP?

The Big Story Podcast on Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Election Results and Aam Aadmi Party Win. Image used for representation only.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

In its debut election in Chandigarh, the Aam Aadmi Party has single-handedly changed the political equations, by winning 14 out of 35 wards in the city municipal elections.

For a city like Chandigarh, which as a UT is administered by the Centre, the administrative power has always relayed between the BJP and the Congress. But those parties struggled to break ground this time.

While the ruling BJP party was reduced to 12 seats from 21 in 2016, Congress only managed to gain 8 seats. The Shiromani Akali Dal got only 1.

And the reason why we are speaking about Chandigarh today is that no one expected a result like this, especially because AAP had no organisational structure in place in the city up until last year. Its candidates also managed to take away seats from the incumbent and former mayors.

AAP’s stunning victory does raise the following questions: Would the party be able to replicate the same result across Punjab in the upcoming polls and what does this decline in seat share mean for the BJP?

To help unpack the Chandigarh Municipal Election results in detail we speak to The Quint’s Political Editor, Aditya Menon.