Punjab Assembly elections 2027: How Delhi's anti-EC protests will churn political landscape in Punjab | Editorial
PTC News Desk: The heat of anti-EC protest in Delhi is certainly intensifying political churn in Punjab with parties reassessing their strategies ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections in 2027 amid growing protests and dissent with youth.
The protests in Delhi—triggered by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and championed by the opposition INDIA bloc against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar—have severely impacted Punjab's political ecosystem.
Political realignments and election strategy
Videos of youth being pushed, lathicharged and detained by the Delhi Police have flooded the social media networks in Punjab. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress party's social media wings are heavily circulating these videos to capitalize on public sentiment and mobilize Punjab’s highly reactive youth demographic.
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However, state BJP spokespersons have dismissed the protests as a “political drama” allegedly organised by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to divert attention from issues such as drug abuse and unemployment in Punjab.
AAP has also raised concerns over reports of police personnel entering the premises of Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi.
Meanwhile, youth activists from Punjab have become prominent faces of the movement demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Gurmehar Kaur, a Congress activist from Jalandhar, is among those who have gained attention in the protests. The Punjab Students Union (PSU) has also joined the agitation.
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These organisations have held separate protests in Punjab, demanding Kumar’s resignation over the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
State vs Centre contrast
The protests have exposed a glaring political contradiction within Punjab's political parties. While the national leadership of the opposition (including AAP and Congress) is aggressively protesting in Delhi, all major political parties within Punjab (AAP, Congress, BJP, and Shiromani Akali Dal) formally expressed satisfaction with how the state's Chief Electoral Officer, Anindita Mitra, handled the SIR process locally
- PTC NEWS
