Why Sangrur and Rajinder Nagar by-polls are important for AAP?

Three months after its stunning electoral victory in Punjab, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and chief minister Bhagwant Mann face a crucial popularity test in the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-elections.

Along with Sangrur, the June 23 by-poll in the Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency in Delhi is also important for the AAP and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Punjab is certainly a bigger challenge in view of the developments in the past few weeks that saw the killing of popular singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala.

The sacking of his health minister Vijay Singla by Mann over allegations of corruption within few months of coming to power may have been projected as his zero tolerance towards such cases but the development also gave a handle to its opponents to attack the AAP on its anti-graft plank.

Moosewala's killing too came as a huge setback for the AAP with its political rivals claiming that the Mann government had failed in maintaining law and order in Punjab.

The bypoll is equally important for Mann to establish and tighten his grip on the government and the party in the state. He represented Sangrur twice in the Lok Sabha - 2014 and 2019 - and on both the occasions he had won with a huge margin of votes.

His assembly seat Dhuri also falls in Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency.

If his party loses the by-poll, it would be a direct reflection on his performance as the chief minister.

Even if the AAP wins the election, it would be interesting to see the vote margin.

As it is, a low voter turnout of 45.30 per cent was recorded in the by-poll, which the chief minister attributed to heatwave and paddy transplantation.

The main contest in Sangrur seems to be between the AAP (Gurmail Singh, the party's Sangrur district in-charge) and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann, a two-time Member of Parliament and whose Twitter bio reads "striving for Khalistan (sovereign state for Sikhs)".

His win will indicate the revival of Sikh fundamentalism in Punjab, a state bordering Pakistan.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded Kamaldeep Kaur, sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh’s assassination case.

While former Dhuri legislator Dalvir Singh Goldy is the Congress candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had given ticket to former Barnala legislator Kewal Dhillon, who had quit the Congress to join the saffron party on June 4.

Coming to Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, the by-election will indicate whether the AAP remains the most preferred party or its popularity has diminished in the recent past.

The by-poll was necessitated after AAP legislator Raghav Chadha vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab.

While the AAP has fielded its MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) in-charge Durgesh Pathak, the BJP has named former councillor Rajesh Bhatia as its candidate.

Former councillor Prem Lata is the Congress candidate.

The main fight is between the AAP and the BJP, which had lined up all its seven Lok Sabha members from Delhi and several union ministers for campaigning.

While the AAP is seeking votes on Kejriwal's performance as the chief minister, the BJP is banking on the so-called anti-incumbency factor.