PUNJABI POLITY AND ITS

DYNAMICS

Submitted To: Prof. Harvinder Singh Bhatti

Submitted By: Ms. Rabnoor Johar (MPhil.)

Politics of Punjab, India

Before 1947 Partition of Punjab, politics were dominated

by Unionist Party as it was main party in United

Punjab especially seen in 1937 elections.

• From 1947 to 1966

• After 1966

List of Political Parties in the State

• Indian National Congress

• Shiromani Akali Dal

• Bhartiya Janta Party

• Bahujan Samaj Party

• Aam Aadmi Party

• Punjab Democratic Party

The Congress Party in Punjab

History

The history of the Indian National Congress (INC) falls into two distinct eras:

• The pre-independence era, when the party was the umbrella organisation

leading the campaign for independence.

• The post-independence era, when the party has had a prominent place in

Indian politics.

The Congress Party after the

Reorganization of Punjab

• In March 1967, after reorganization the Congress was, unable to make its ministry in the first elections.

• In February 1969, it was the non-Congress parties which made the government in Punjab.

• In June,1977, the Alkalis and their allies were again in power.

• In January, 1980, the Congress party regained power at the Centre in the mid-term elections.

• In February, 1980, the President’s rule was imposed in Punjab.

• In July, 1980, elections to the Punjab Vihaan Sabha held.

• In October, 1983, however, Darbara Singh had to resign on account of his

government’s failure in containing the growing Sikh militant activities in the

State.

• In February, 1992, assembly elections, after a long spell of remaining out of

power, the Congress again captured power in Punjab.

• In 1997, Assembly elections, the Akali-BJP alliance came in power with a huge

victory. The Congress also lost power at the Centre.

• In 2002, Vidhan sabha elections, the Congress again captured power in Punjab

under the leadership of Capt. Amarinder Singh.

• In 2007, Assembly elections, the Congress was unable to make its ministry.

The Programme And Policies

Professedly, the Congress Party is committed to the ideals of:

• Socialism

• Secularism

• Democracy

• National unity and

• The non-alignment.

The Congress Support Base

The Congress, for all practical purposes, professes its secular faith,

accommodates all religious and caste groups and has been able to attract the

votes of all the communities. It draws its support from Majha and Doaba

regions of Punjab.

Akali Dal being a Jat dominated party draws its support exclusively from the

Sikhs i.e from the Malwa region of Punjab.

Organization of The Congress Party

THE PRESIDENT

All India Congress Committee

Congress Parliamentary Board

Pradesh Congress Committees

District Congress Committees

(Urban/ Rural)

Block Congress Committees

Primary Congress Committees

The Shiromani Akali Dal In Punjab

HISTORY

• Akali Dal was formed on 14 December 1920 as a task force of the

Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the Sikh religious body.

• The Akali Dal considers itself the principal representative of Sikhs.

• Sardar Sarmukh Singh Chubbal was the first president of a unified proper

Akali Dal, but it became popular under Master Tara Singh.

Present Politics in Punjab

• The current Punjab government is formed by Akali Dal in partnership with

its regional and national ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It has 59 members

in Punjab Legislative Assembly and combined with 12 of BJP, forms a

majority government.

Punjab Chief Ministers Belonging To Akali Dal

• Gurnam Singh (8 March 1967 – 25 November 1967)

• Lachhman Singh Gill (25 November 1967 – 23 August 1968)

• Gurnam Singh (17 February 1969 – 27 March 1970)

• Parkash Singh Badal (27 March 1970 – 14 June 1971)

• Parkash Singh Badal ( 20 June 1977 – 17 February 1980)

• Surjit Singh Barnala (29 September 1985 – 11 June 1987)

• Parkash Singh Badal (12 February 1997 – 26 February 2002)

• Parkash Singh Badal (1 March 2007 – Present)

Ideology And Programme

• The Akali leadership is of the firm view that politics can not be run properly

without the sanction of the Sikh religion, which can not be safeguarded

without holding political power. Both go hand in hand.

• The blending of religion and politics is only one aspect of the Akali Dal’s

ideology and programme. Being a political party, the Akali Dal has fought for

a number of fundamental secular, economic and political issues relating to

Punjab and the Nation.

The Office–Bearers

• The President

• The Vice-President (Senior and Junior)

• The General Secretaries

• The Working Committee

The Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab

• Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, English: Common Man's Party) is an Indian

political party, formally launched on 26 November 2012, and is currently the

ruling party of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It came into

existence following differences between the activists Arvind Kejriwal and

Anna Hazare regarding whether or not to politicise the popular India Against

Corruption movement that had been demanding a Jan Lokpal Bill since

2011.

Ideology And Issues

• Democratic Socialism

• Anti-Corruption

General Election 2014

• The party fielded 434 candidates in the 2014 Indian general election, in which it did

not expect to do well. It recognised that its support was based primarily in urban

areas and that different strategies might be required for regions such as Uttar

Pradesh where caste-based politics are the norm. The party pointed out that its

funding was limited and that there were too many demands for local visits from

Kejriwal. The intention was to field candidates in large numbers to maximise the

likelihood of recognition as a national party by the Election Commission. The

outcome was that 4 AAP candidates won, all from Punjab. Consequently, AAP

became a recognised state party in Punjab.

Reference

• Sidhu, L.S , Brar, G.S , Punia, S.K (2009): Politics In Punjab 1966-2008,

Unistar Books Pvt. Ltd. Chandigarh.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Punjab,_India

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiromani_Akali_Dal