Bhagwant Mann’s Twin Challenges: Law and order failures, Arvind Kejriwal’s long arm

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann (right) and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. (File image)

A year has passed since the historic victory of the Aam Aadmi Party against the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal in the Punjab assembly elections. As the AAP’s national convener, the victory was important for Arvind Kejriwal's political career. As the first full state in its kitty, Punjab was AAP's gateway to going national.

But since then, Punjab has been in the news for all the wrong reasons and, more specifically, for frightening events. Under chief minister Bhagwant Mann, there are questions about law and order in Punjab, and why timely action hasn’t been taken against pro-Khalistan organisations like Waris Punjab De, despite its dramatic rise.

Even with help from the central government and a crackdown across the entire state, the Punjab police aren’t able to catch Amritpal Singh. This past year has provided AAP and Kejriwal with numerous lessons. Punjab is a story of a political party’s inability to recognise the challenges of running a full state and squandering its own potential to become a national force.

Political And Policing Failures

Punjab shares its borders with Pakistan and has a history of violent conflict between separatist outfits and the government. In light of this, preserving law and order in the state becomes a matter of national importance. But the Bhagwant Mann government has taken a casual approach.

There have been numerous small incidents of violence between groups, and an increase in open activities of separatist elements. The RPG attack on the Punjab police intelligence wing headquarters was an early warning. The Punjab government also lifted the security cover of several individuals, one of which led to the murder of musician Sidhu Moosewala.

Meanwhile, the pro-Khalistan group Waris Punjab De, led by Amritpal Singh, was getting a lot of attention. However, it was only after the Ajnala police station attack that the government woke up to the challenge it was facing.

The murder of Pradeep Singh, who was one of the Bargari sacrilege suspects, was another warning sign that went unheeded. Recent events including the killing of a young NRI in Anandpur Sahib have stirred quite a lot of disquiet. The recent interview by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from jail buttressed perceptions of the government as weak on crime.

Going forward, AAP will have to abandon its populist positions that seem to curry favour with hardline elements and ask police to take action against lawbreakers, irrespective of the clout they enjoy in society.

In Kejriwal’s Shadow

Mann has appeared to be a weak CM overdependent on Kejriwal’s counsel. Opposition parties have made this a primary vehicle of their attacks against AAP. Kejriwal naming his trusted lieutenant, Raghav Chadha, as Mann's advisor was a bad start in itself.

It showed that the leadership in Delhi would keep the Punjab AAP unit and government in check. Even though Bhagwant Mann was a Sikh, he was unable to present himself as a powerful Sikh leader, and this void is emboldening AAP’s opponents to step up their attacks against the party.

Punjab has consistently rejected the notion of political dependence on Delhi. AAP’s loss of the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, Mann’s constituency for eight years, brought out the welling discontent. That Simranjit Singh Mann, a radical politician who was for long relegated to the margins, won this seat was a clear indication that Bhagwant Mann playing second fiddle to Kejriwal wasn’t endearing AAP to voters.

The overreliance on Kejriwal has manifested in many ways. Recall that during the scandal relating to alleged private videos of Chandigarh University students being leaked, the Mann administration didn't say anything until Kejriwal spoke up. Kejriwal meeting the Punjab Chief Secretary in Mann’s absence also harmed popular perception of Mann.

Implementing the Delhi governance model everywhere is AAP's central political agenda. But it is impractical to replicate the developmental strategy for a metropolitan city in a state like Punjab.

Media reports suggest Punjab's AAP administration has performed well in agriculture, education, healthcare, and anti-corruption. But these gains are being squandered by Mann lacking the administrative instincts to take action on sensitive issues.

Akali Dal’s Decline

With the decline of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Sikh community is witnessing a political vaccuum. It is giving separatist voices a fillip. First, AAP will have to build its organisation down to the grassroots and thereby improve the political messaging of the state government and the party. Moreover, if this void persists, hardliners such as Simranjeet Singh Mann and others will fill it, endangering AAP, as had happened in Sangrur.

Meanwhile, the two mainstream parties - Congress and SAD - are on the offensive, accusing Mann of ineptitude. At the extreme end of the political spectrum, fringe separatist elements are waiting in the wings hoping the authority of the state erodes. Pakistan’s interest in fuelling unrest adds to the Punjab government’s challenges.

The people of Punjab have given Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP multiple chances to move up in the political world. AAP owes them a debt of gratitude it has to repay. Bhagwant Mann has no real electoral worries for the moment with assembly elections still four years away. But this can’t be an excuse for laidback governance. Hopefully, Mann, Kejriwal and AAP would have learned their lessons from the Amritpal episode and make the necessary course corrections before it is too late.

Sayantan Ghosh is a Columnist and Doctoral Research Scholar In Media & Politics. He tweets @sayantan_gh. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.