Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party has made bold claims about heading for victory in all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. However, the situation on the ground shows that it is facing headwinds due to its performance over the past two years.
The AAP formed the government in Punjab in March 2022 with a slew of promises. These ran the gamut from free power, employment, corruption-free governance, world-class schools, and top-notch health facilities, to Rs 1,000 per month for every adult woman, an increase in old age pensions to Rs 2,500 per month, and a drug-free Punjab.
But has the Bhagwant Mann-led government delivered on these promises? While the election results will provide the final answer, here are the five key issues where people persistently question the Mann government.
All the 13 constituencies in Punjab will vote in the final phase of polling on 1 June.
Drug abuse crisis
During the 2022 Assembly elections, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal promised to tackle Punjab’s drug problem within months. Two years later, this promise remains unmet and goalposts keep shifting, even as the party continues to vow it will solve the issue.
The failure of the government to find a lasting solution to the problem of rampant drug abuse is contributing significantly to anti-incumbency against the AAP government. Across Punjab, people voice concerns that the situation has, if anything, worsened.
“The drug problem has only increased in our area,” said Ranbir Singh, an electrician in village Thetharke in Dera Baba Nanak tehsil near the India-Pakistan border in the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency. “All kinds of drugs are freely available. The number of people who are now consuming liquor is much more than a few years ago. In our village, in the evening, daily wagers from nearby villages also come to drink alcohol.”
Ranbir further alleged that while the police pick up those found consuming intoxicants, they have failed to act sufficiently against those who are responsible for supplying drugs and alcohol.
“We are living on the zero line. The Pakistan border is about 1.5 km from here. There is no source of employment for youngsters. There are hardly any educational facilities. Every day we hear of 15-year-olds, even 13-year-olds, dying of drug addiction in this area,” he added.
In village Lakhnaur in Anandpur Sahib constituency, too, villagers complain about the rampant availability of drugs.
Pointing to a group of young men on motorcycles, an elderly villager claimed that they were waiting for the delivery of drugs.
“Everyone in the village, including the police, knows who is delivering drugs, but no permanent solution is found. Even when these drug peddlers are picked up, they are let off within a day,” he alleged.
In Fazilka’s Ganjuana village, which falls under Ferozepur constituency, resident Gurdeep Singh said while drug abuse is not widespread, a large number of villagers are addicted to liquor.
“There is a lot of unemployment, and people can be seen wandering aimlessly in the village. The village sarpanch belongs to the Congress, so the Aam Aadmi Party people do not do any work here,” he alleged.
Last Independence Day, CM Mann promised that Punjab would be drug-free within a year.
“While we would encourage the consumers to be taken to hospital and treated, those involved in selling of the drugs will not be spared,” he had said. “A massive plan is ready… the blueprint is final and you will soon see the reaction to our action.”
Rs 1,000 aid to women
One of the major promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the assembly elections was to give Rs 1,000 per month to every adult woman in Punjab, to be spent as she wished. However, two years into their term, the government has yet to launch this scheme.
“We were fooled by the AAP into believing that this money for women, to be used in their kitchen, will start the day they come into power,” said Gurdev Singh of village Nardru in Dera Bassi under Patiala parliamentary constituency.
Voicing his frustration, Joginder Singh, a resident of village Kasiana, also in Patiala constituency, said that the people of Punjab were not as gullible as politicians seemed to believe.
“If we add the amount that is due to the women folk, then it will be in lakhs for the government,” he said.
Mandeep Kumar of village Dandoh in the Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency told ThePrint that there was no doubt that women were upset with AAP.
“It would have been OK had they not promised it initially. But since they had given hope to these women and not fulfilled the promise, it is going against them. In fact, parties in the opposition are asking this as the first question to the public to show AAP down,” Mandeep said.
Meanwhile, the promise of Rs 1,000 to women is still being held out, with Mann reiterating it at a 24 April rally in Roopnagar.
“I could have easily fulfilled the promise before the elections by giving money to the women for two-three months, but that scheme would not have lasted,” he said. “I want to launch the scheme only when I know that it will continue unbroken.”
There are almost 1.02 crore women above the age of 18 years in Punjab, and the implementation of the scheme is expected to cost the government Rs 1,000 crore per month.
National Food Security Act
Across villages in Punjab, many residents expressed concerns regarding last year’s review process that determined eligibility for beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Many people who previously received 5 kg of wheat per month from the government at a nominal price of Rs 2 per kg were excluded from the list (until early this year), leading to widespread discontentment.
“My family’s name has been removed from the list of beneficiaries, and now we do not receive wheat, despite meeting the eligibility criteria. But others in our village who are ineligible continue to receive wheat,” said an elderly woman from Simbli village in Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency, requesting anonymity.
There is also a widespread perception that the inclusion and exclusion of names on the beneficiary list are influenced by village factions supporting different political parties.
“The verification done during the process of review of beneficiaries is never unbiased. People are added and subtracted from the list on the basis of which party they support, and which party is in power. The earlier government also did the same thing,” alleged Baljeet Singh, resident of village Kotla Fazal in Fatehgarh Sahib parliamentary constituency.
Under the central government’s NFSA scheme, Punjab’s beneficiary count is capped at 1.41 crore. However, during the previous Congress state government led by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, this number increased to 1.56 crore. After the Bhagwant Mann government took office in March 2022, a door-to-door verification review led to the removal of 10.77 lakh ineligible beneficiaries last year, causing an uproar.
The Punjab cabinet eventually reversed the decision in January this year, but the political damage in villages that ThePrint visited seemed to have already been done since they had not received benefits for about a year.
Wheat flour vs grains
Another issue to the above is the perception of “cheating” by the AAP government, which shifted from distributing wheat to wheat flour under the National Food Security Act in January this year. Many beneficiaries seemed to be under the impression that they would continue receiving wheat from the Government of India and get an additional 5 kg of wheat flour each month under a new state scheme launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
“The AAP government started giving us flour, but when we went to take wheat, it was not given to us. We were not told that wheat has been replaced by flour. We thought we would get both,” said Ram, a resident of village Hardaspur in Patiala parliamentary constituency.
The Mann government had remodelled the Centre’s scheme, offering beneficiaries 5 kg of wheat flour instead of wheat. Launched with much fanfare in January, the wheat flour was delivered to beneficiaries’ doorsteps in bags featuring CM Mann’s image.
“The previous scheme, where we used to get wheat, was much better. We used to wash and store the wheat and use it when required. The flour quality is not very good,” complained Prem Singh, a resident of Fatehgarh Sahib.
Rs 2,500 old age pension
Another promise made by the AAP before elections was to increase the old age pension from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per month. However, two years on, this increase has yet to happen.
“We are receiving Rs 1,500 per month regularly, but we were promised an increase,” said Gurdev Singh, a resident of Chunni Kalan village in Fatehgarh Sahib. “We have to find transportation and spend money from our own pockets to go to the bank to withdraw this meagre amount.”
Every woman over the age of 58 and every man above 65 is eligible for the monthly old age pension, provided their annual income does not exceed Rs 60,000. The total number of beneficiaries under this scheme is nearly 30 lakh. In addition to the elderly, the scheme also includes widows.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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