AAP's Punjab landslide
What happened
The Aam Aadmi Party won power in Punjab under Bhagwant Mann, defeating the Indian National Congress in a landslide.1
It won 92 of the 117 seats on 42.0% of the vote.
That left it 33 seats clear of a majority — a supermajority of the house.
The INC fell to 18 seats on 23.0% of the vote.
The result was also a watershed defeat for the outgoing INC government.
- 1AAP Declares Bhagwant Mann Its Chief Ministerial Candidate — 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
The campaign
The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party struck a seat-sharing alliance on 13 June 2021, splitting seats 97-20. On 28 December 2021, the BJP allied with Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and a Shiromani Akali Dal breakaway faction.23
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded for about 20 minutes near Firozpur on 5 January 2022 after protesters blocked the route, and he cancelled a planned rally. The Supreme Court later formed an independent inquiry led by former Justice Indu Malhotra. The Election Commission separately postponed polling from 14 to 20 February 2022 after requests tied to Guru Ravidass Jayanti pilgrimage traffic.45
The Aam Aadmi Party named Bhagwant Mann its chief ministerial candidate on 18 January 2022. On 6 February 2022, Rahul Gandhi announced that Congress's candidate for the role would be incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.16
Former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal contested his home seat of Lambi for the Shiromani Akali Dal, while his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, the SAD-BSP alliance's own chief ministerial face, stood in Jalalabad.7
- 1AAP Declares Bhagwant Mann Its Chief Ministerial Candidate — 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
- 2SAD and BSP Announce Seat-Sharing Alliance — 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
- 3BJP Forms Alliance with Punjab Lok Congress and SAD (Sanyukt) — 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
- 4PM Modi's Convoy Stranded Near Ferozepur, Rally Cancelled — 2022 Narendra Modi security breach, 2022 Narendra Modi security breach
- 5Election Commission Postpones Polling Date to 20 February — Political parties welcome EC's decision to postpone Punjab polls, 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
- 6Congress Names Charanjit Singh Channi Its Chief Ministerial Candidate — 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
- 7Prakash Singh Badal Contests Lambi at Age 94 — 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
What changed
INC's hold on government collapsed this election.
AAP grew from 20 seats to 92 this time.
The single biggest shift ran from INC to AAP, covering 62 of the 86 seats that changed hands.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, moved -5.1 pp from the previous election.
AAP's vote share rose +18.3 pp, while INC's fell -15.5 pp.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Jalandhar Central, Punjab, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 247 votes.
Sunam, Punjab was won by 48.7% of the vote, the widest margin of the election.
Gidderbaha, Punjab recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 84.9%.
Dera Bassi, Punjab was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 2,88,128 names on its rolls.
Sahnewal, Punjab drew the most crowded field, 19 candidates on the ballot.
NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 1,10,308 votes statewide, 0.7% of the total.
The backdrop
Parliament's Punjab Reorganisation Act, passed in September 1966, took effect on 1 November 1966.8
Most of the state's territory became the new state of Haryana, the hill districts were transferred to Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh became a shared union territory capital.8
The 1967 assembly election was the first one held on this newly reduced map.8
- 8Punjab Reorganisation Act splits off Haryana and Himachal hill areas — Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966