Punjab’s political atmosphere has been thrown into turmoil after a video surfaced showing AAP leader and Punjab in charge Manish Sisodia allegedly asking party workers to use saam, daam, dand, bhed, ladai-jhagda to win the 2027 Assembly elections.
Bouncing back strongly, especially from the opposition parties, calls for immediate intervention from the Election Commission of India have been made after the clip surfaced, supposedly from one of the internal training sessions of AAP’s women’s wing in Mohali.
Opposition’s Demand for Action
Punjab BJP state president Sunil Jakhar has taken the lead, writing to the Chief Election Commissioner asking for an FIR against Sisodia, his disqualification from contesting elections, and a ban on him from making public speeches. He claimed that Sisodia’s remarks expose AAP’s “intent to subvert democracy through corrupt and violent means.”
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Likewise, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded that AAP should be disqualified from contesting elections in the state, arguing that the party’s “mask of honesty has come off.” He further accused AAP of doing the politics of chaos and jeopardizing Punjab’s peace.
AAP’s Counter Defense
But AAP leaders claim the controversy is one of political opportunism, maintaining that Sisodia’s statements were taken out of context. As per an AAP functionary, the “one-minute video” does not reflect the entire context of Sisodia’s address. The function was organized to train cadres to counter false narratives, rather than to spread them, they claim.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP Punjab president Aman Arora, who were present at the event, have not commented directly, although insiders now suggest that the viral clip was purposefully edited to tarnish Sisodia’s image.
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Congress Doubles Down
In the midst of the political storm, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring lambasted Sisodia, stating that the remarks illustrate AAP’s overconfidence in a misplaced way.
“Should Sisodia believe that these kinds of maneuvering can bring him Punjab, he is grossly mistaken,” Warring stated, insisting that Punjabis treasure honesty and cheap tricks would be rejected in 2027 as they have been before.
Larger Implications
While AAP dismisses the controversy as produced within the contrived walls of coerced political agenda, the incident has already managed to crack a hole in the party’s image that has been carefully constructed over the years of ethical politics.
Demands for legal action and disqualification hold Sisodia and the party alike under scrutiny. In Punjab a sensitive border state with a history of unrest-comments like these should not be seen as political dramatics but pose more serious questions pertaining to the integrity of democracy and social harmony.
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