Punjab: AAP eyes image boost with course correction

Chandigarh : The latest reshuffle, fourth in 30 months, in the Punjab cabinet is seen as Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party’s strategic effort to give party an image makeover and inject fresh blood into governance that has come under increasing Opposition scrutiny.

Four ministers — Balkar Singh, Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Brahm Shankar Jimpa and Anmol Gagan Mann — who were dropped from the cabinet were embroiled in controversies giving a fodder to Opposition leaders to mount a sharp attack on the government alleging governance failure.

The AAP, which registered a landslide victory in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls by winning 92 of the 117 seats, faced a drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections winning only three of 13 seats.

The Opposition has been targeting the AAP government over its alleged failure to meet the poll promises, including curbing the drug menace, reining in gangsters and criminals and improving the financial situation of the state.

“The reshuffle is a bid to revamp the leadership. This becomes imperative amid shifting political dynamics in the state as the AAP is keen on re-aligning its governance approach following the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, which was not as per expectation of the party,” said senior leaders of the party, pleading anonymity.

Before the 2022 state polls, the AAP promised to fast track development activities in the state. However, it is struggling even to maintain the existing infrastructure and provide basic civic amenities to the citizens. Party’s own MLAs are crying hoarse over lack of amenities. It was evident during the three-day Vidhan Sabha session in the first week of September, when ruling party MLAs were seen highlighting the lack of civic facilities in cities and towns across Punjab.

Punjab Congress chief dubbed the repeated reshuffles as a clear sign of government instability and mismanagement. “What kind of governance can we expect when the most critical positions are being filled by those who are still learning the ropes,” Warring said.

“Despite reshuffling the cabinet four times, no substantial improvements have been observed. Bhagwant Mann’s leadership is not delivering,” said leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Partap Singh Bajwa

While the Opposition has been slamming the Mann government over corruption, AAP MLA and assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan recently raised questions over the performance of the government in curbing the corruption.

“Questions are being raised on governance and administration,” said political analyst and former head of political science department of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Jagrup Singh Sekhon. “The reshuffle has no meaning when the government is unable to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the state that it had invoked during the poll campaigns,” he added.

Debt pile-up

The AAP government is also under attack for “failing” to manage state’s finances as Punjab is already under a debt of ₹3.51 lakh crore. “In 2022-2023, the state took loans worth ₹32,500 crore and in 2023-24, the average annual increase was over ₹29,000 crore. The populist promises are burning a hole in the state coffers as power subsidy alone amounts to over ₹20,000 crore,” Opposition leaders have alleged. “The government is also struggling on the economic front as it is unable to make timely disbursal of salaries and pensions,” Sekhon said.