Jaibans Singh
In the decades following its annexation of Punjab by the British East India company and the subsequent establishment of the British Empire in India, Punjab became a territory completely absorbed into British India. It was governed directly by British officials.
In this period the Sikh community underwent significant social, religious and political change. The Singh Sabha movement and institutions like the Chief Khalsa Diwan brought with them ideas of a religious and cultural reform. These, added with British atrocities like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, propelled the Sikhs towards organising themselves as a distinct political force.
The political mobilisation that followed gave rise to the Gurdwara Reform Movement that ultimately led to the creation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) On 14 December 1920. Sarmukh Singh Jhabal was its first Jathedar, while Baba Kharak Singh and, subsequently, Master Tara Singh emerged as its most prominent leaders.
After prolonged agitation by the Akali Dal the British Punjab Government enacted the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 on 1 November 1925 whereby the management of notified Sikh Gurdwaras was handed over to an elected Sikh body named the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). This was a big social and political victory for both the Sikh community and the SAD
The emergence of different strands within Sikh politics like the Khalsa National Party and the Unionist Party had pro-British leanings. SAD, on its part, cooperated with the Indian National Congress and participated in the wider nationalist movement.
SAD has been contesting elections in Punjab since 1937 after the Government of India Act 1935 came into existence. In the very first elections it won 11 seats, the pro-British Khalsa Nationalist Party won 13 seats, the Congress won 18 seats, Hindu Mahasabha won 12 and the Punjab Unionist Party won 98 seats.
The Post-Independence Scenario
Following the trauma of Partition, the Akali Dal, with the objective of securing Sikh minority rights in independent India, decided to merge its legislative wing with the Congress to join the government in East Punjab. However, they broke away by 1950 over disagreements regarding the Punjabi language status.
In 1956, the States Reorganisation Commission rejected the demand for a Punjabi-speaking state. Seeking a compromise, Akali leader Master Tara Singh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to the “Regional Formula,” which split Punjab’s assembly into Punjabi and Hindi language zones to safeguard linguistic interests. Believing that this arrangement would pave the way for their goals, the SAD formally merged into Congress again and ran under the Congress ticket in the 1957 elections.
The Congress government in Punjab, led by Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon intentionally side-lined the implementation of the Regional Formula. The Akali leadership felt trapped. Master Tara Singh, in 1959, declared that the merger had been a mistake and called for the revival of the Shiromani Akali Dal as an independent political voice to aggressively restart the Punjabi Suba agitation. Several prominent Akali leaders who had won on Congress tickets in 1957 (including Gian Singh Rarewala) chose to stay back with the Congress Party. The core mass-base, however, aligned with the independent and combative Akali Dal.
The definitive break happened during the January, 1960 SGPC elections. The Akali Dal won a thumping majority, securing 136 out of 140 seats. This sweeping victory proved that the Sikh masses still viewed the Akali Dal, not the Congress, as their true representative.
The Congress remained the ruling party of Punjab by fair means and foul from 1956 to 1966. The Akali agitations, however, culminated in the legislation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, on 1 November 1966 in which Haryana was carved out as a separate state and some districts of the unified Punjab were also given to Himachal Pradesh. The Act paved the way for the SAD to open its electoral account in Punjab.
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was founded in 1951 by Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Punjab was an especially important area for the new party because a large number of Hindu refugees from Pakistan had settled there. The party established itself principally among the urban Hindu population, particularly in cities such as Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and parts of the Doaba and Malwa regions. Its presence was visible in the first elections after Independence and grew during the 1950s and early 1960s.
The Jana Sangh opposed the demand for a Punjabi-speaking state. In March 1966, following the Congress Working Committee’s decision to support reorganisation, Punjab Jana Sangh leader Yagya Dutt Sharma undertook a fast. The party demanded safeguards concerning the status of Hindi-speaking areas and the institutional arrangements of the reorganised state. However, once the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 was enacted and the division of the state formalised the Jana Sangh accepted Punjabi as the official language of Punjab, although it continued to press for safeguards for Hindi speakers and other institutional issues.
The Akali-Jana Sangh Coalition
In the 1967 Assembly election, Congress lost its majority, winning 48 of 104 seats. The Sant Fateh Singh faction of the Akali Dal won 24, while the Jana Sangh won 9 seats. The Akalis and Jana Sangh then became partners in a broader non-Congress coalition, along with several other parties. This produced Punjab’s first non-Congress government, headed by Justice Gurnam Singh. Within 262 days, Gurnam Singh’s own cabinet minister, Lachman Singh Gill, defected with 16 MLAs and formed a government with support from the Congress. The Congress allowed Gill another 272 days before pulling the carpet from under his government and imposing President’s rule for the third time – for 172 days.
In the Legislative Assembly elections of 1969, SAD emerged as the largest party, winning 43 of the 104 seats and formed the government in coalition with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Justice Gurnam Singh got a second chance that barely crossed a year when he was compelled to make way for Parkash Singh Badal. The infighting in SAD did not stop, leading to dismissal of the government and imposition of President’s rule for the fourth time on 14 June 1971, it lasted for 277 days.
The First Congress-Akali Dal Face-off
The Congress electorally butchered the SAD in the elections of 1972 and installed Giani Zail Singh as chief minister on 17 March 1972. He became the second chief minister in the history of Indian Punjab to complete the mandated five-year term till 30 April 1977, the first being Partap Singh Kairon
When Giani Zail Singh proceeded to the greener pastures of Delhi, Punjab entered a yet another period of political instability. Post the Assembly elections held in 1977, the SAD emerged as the largest party and, with the support of the Janata Party, it formed the government. Parkash Singh Badal became Chief Minister on 20 June 1977. His government, however, was short-lived.
The political situation changed dramatically after Indira Gandhi and the Congress returned to power at the Centre in the January 1980 Lok Sabha elections. The Union Government dismissed several non-Congress state governments, including Punjab’s. Punjab was placed under President’s Rule on 17 February 1980.
Fresh Assembly elections were held in May 1980, and the Congress returned to power. Darbara Singh became Chief Minister on 17 February 1980. The deteriorating security situation and massive agitation by SAD led to the dismissal of his government and the imposition of President’s Rule on 6 October 1983; it lasted till September 1985.
The next Assembly elections were held in September 1985, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Rajiv–Longowal Accord. The SAd, led by Surjit Singh Barnala, won a clear majority and formed the government. Barnala was sworn in as Chief Minister on 29 September 1985. His government, however, lasted less than two years since the state was again placed under President’s rule on 11 May 1987.
Punjab remained under President’s Rule for nearly five years before Assembly elections were finally held in 1992. The major Akali factions boycotted the elections. The Congress won an overwhelming majority, amidst a low turnout and allegations of rigging. Beant Singh was chosen as Chief Minister. Post his assassination in August 1995 after serving as chief minister for 3 years and 187 days, the remainder term was covered by two Congress leaders Harcharan Singh Brar (one year and 82 days) and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (82 days). This traumatic democratic cycle that left Punjab leaderless and desolate culminated on 11 February 1997.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party was formally established on 6 April 1980 under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it inherited a political and organisational legacy of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Punjab was among the states where the new party chose to build its base on the existing structure of the Jana Sangh. Dr. Baldev Prakash becoming its first state president, and the organisational headquarters in Chandigarh. The BJP, however, aspired to establish itself as a Pan-Punjab political organisation. It extended its organisational network beyond its earlier strongholds and created structures capable of reaching all sections of the state.
The BJP, contested the 1985 elections separately, won six seats and sat in opposition. The SAD won 73 seats and formed a government led by Surjit Singh Barnala. Again in 1992 the BJP participated in the election while most Akali groups boycotted it. The BJP therefore retained its independent political identity even during the most difficult years of militancy.
In 1997, the BJP-SAD coalition was reignited and it achieved a decisive victory with SAD getting 75 seats and BJP-18. In 2002 the coalition remained intact but lost to the Congress; BJP won only three seats. In 2007 the coalition formed the government again with BJP winning 19 of the 23 seats that it contested. The coalition won again in 2012 with BJP contributing 12 seats to the kitty.
The Second Congress-Akali Face-off
The second face-off lasted for a period of two decades from 1997 to 2017. Elections were held in Punjab for the 11th Punjab assembly in 1997. The SAD-BJP coalition won a clear majority and Prakash Singh Badal became chief minister for the third time and completed his term.
From 1997 onwards, to date (2024), state assembly elections have been held in Punjab on schedule. The Congress party won the state elections in Punjab in 2002 and Captain Amarinder Singh formed the government. In the 2007 elections the SAD-BJP alliance, under Prakash Singh Badal came back to power for two terms. In 2017, the Congress under Captain Amarinder Singh formed the government.
Advent of AAP as the Fourth Front
Punjab voted overwhelmingly for change in 2022 and brought in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with Bhagwant Mann as the chief minister. Sadly, the new chief minister, on whom the people of Punjab had reposed so much trust, failed to take a grip of the state and address its multiple problems and challenges with clean hands and good intentions. Like the Congress leaders of old, he too takes his orders from New Delhi where his party supremo, Arvind Kejriwal resides.
Posture of the BJP
Surprisingly, amidst all the political challenges in Punjab over decades, the BJP chose to take a back-seat as a junior partner of the SAD. It should have developed an independent political space considering its national character, strong organisation and an abiding presence in the state for upwards of six decades.
Post the breakdown of the alliance in 2021, the BJP was free to construct an independent political identity and seek a much larger political role in the State. Yet, it remained cautious and, at times, insipid. It has not sufficiently demonstrated that it understands the social composition, aspirations and anxieties of contemporary Punjab, nor has it articulated a sufficiently compelling State-specific political narrative. The consequence is visible in the electoral space that remains available to be occupied but does not seem to be going the way of the BJP. It was, in fact, the AAP that stepped in and occupied the political space that could have and should have gone to the BJP
The BJP’s difficulty, therefore, is not that it has not won enough seats. The deeper issue is that it has yet to convince a sufficiently large section of Punjab that it has a distinct political identity of its own. In view of its national stature, the BJP in Punjab should look for a political proposition that addresses Sikh heritage, Punjabi identity, agricultural economy, border-state sensitivities, aspirations of its youth, industrial potential, security concerns and its deep integration with the national mainstream.
Concluding Remarks
While the Congress had enjoyed considerable political dominance in undivided Punjab, the reorganisation of 1966 altered the political balance in the Sikh-majority Punjab that emerged thereafter. The 1985 and 1997 Assembly elections demonstrated that a Panthic (Sikh) party could command a clear majority in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha.
Yet, the Congress chose to retain power by fair means and foul including arbitrary imposition of Presidents rule on a number of occasions. The 1992 election, held in exceptionally difficult circumstances and boycotted by the major Akali factions, produced an overwhelming Congress victory, but did not establish a durable political settlement.
The 1997 election marked an important turning point when, with the help of moderate governments in the centre, an ecosystem of free and fair elections being held on schedule found roots. The decisive victory of the BJP-SAD alliance finally restored a broad-based electoral contest.
Thereafter, Congress was able to dislodge the SAD-BJP government on two occasions, in 2002 and 2017. Both defeats reflected anti-incumbency, but the circumstances were different. In 2002, the SAD-BJP government faced criticism on issues of governance. Captain Amarinder Singh’s resignation from Parliament and from the Congress in protest following Operation Blue Star resonated his leadership among the masses and played a big role in the resurrection of the Congress. The 2017 defeat of the SAD-BJP alliance was more deeply connected to the sacrilege incidents of 2015.
As things stand, the incumbent APP is on a weak wicket for what is perceived as a sellout of Punjab to non-state elements who form the party’s national leadership. However, it is notable here that, none of the other parties have been able to position themselves as an alternative to the AAP. They have failed to rectify the fault lines in their organization and more importantly their political philosophy. The SAD continues to remain fractured with more and more off-shoots coming up by the day. The Congress is ridden with factionalism as it strives to identify a leader who can take the place of Captain Amarinder Singh. The farmers, despite a huge groundswell of support during the farmer’s agitation have been unable to produce any political leadership.
The BJP, therefore, has an opportunity to emerge as an independent and significant political force. Yet opportunity by itself does not create electoral space. Sadly, the party has yet to give clarity about its vision for Punjab and the role that it is to play in the socio-cultural and political template of the region. It has neither projected a strong leadership face nor come up with a transparent and well-articulated policy.
The consequence of the above confusion is a striking paradox. Punjab has a politically sophisticated and highly responsive electorate. Yet its principal political parties have been unable to provide a widely accepted long-term political direction. The issue, therefore, is not an absence of political awareness among Punjabis; it is the existence of a leadership and political vacuum
The end result is that after a century plus of sacrifices Punjab today is facing the biggest political vacuum in its long history. The vacuum has come at a time when the region is in dire need of a strong, honest and vibrant government that resolves the social, economic, cultural and political problems with clarity, administrative competence, institutional credibility and leadership that commands public trust. Hope can be laid only on the enlightened vision of the Punjabi voters who have voted decisively for what they consider to be the best choice. That they have been disappointed and let-down on several occasions is a different matter altogether