CHANDIGARH – The People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) failed to win a single seat and its coalition partners -the CPI, the CPM and the SAD (Longowal)-have been wiped out too.
Manpreet Singh Badal, PPP leader, lost from both Gidderbaha and Maur. However, the PPP did manage to a vote share of 5.17 per cent, more than that of the BSP, which got 4.30 per cent votes. Manpreet’s close associates Bhagwant Singh Mann, Gurpreet Singh Bhatti, Abhey Singh Sandhu and others all lost. The PPP had fielded candidates 91 candidates, the CPI 14 and the CPM nine.
The PPP was expected to win some seats because it had got a good response at its election rallies. What led to the PPP’s massive defeat? The single most important reason was lack of an organisational structure owing to which it failed to convert support to votes.
Another reason was lack of resources. The PPP was unable to launch its campaign in the print and electronic media whereas the main parties ran a sustained publicity campaign. The money power at play two days prior to polling threw the PPP and its associates virtually out of the contest.
Moreover, the party was solely dependent on its star campaigner Manpreet. The left leaders from Delhi did not take adequate interest in campaigning for the Sanjha Morcha candidates.
