As the principal opposition party in the state now, the party has an opportunity it cannot afford to fritter away. However, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s charge that electronic voting machines were rigged and 20-25% of AAP votes were transferred to the Akali-BJP coalition, may just not be the right note to start with, experts say. If they want to be relevant in national politics, AAP leaders will have to be more pragmatic,” says Surinder S Jodhka, Jawaharlal Nehru University professor and political sociologist. Among experienced legislators, the AAP only has chief whip Sukhpal Singh Khaira (formerly in Congress) and its ally Lok Insaaf Party’s Balwinder Singh and Simarjit Singh. “The people of Punjab have put their faith in us to lead the opposition charge and we cannot be seen as wanting in that,” Gurpreet Waraich, the party’s Punjab convenor, told HT.

Source: Hindustan Times March 16, 2017 08:37 UTC