A new opposition arrives
What happened
The Indian National Congress returned to power in Punjab in a landslide, ending the outgoing government's hold on power.
It won 77 of the 117 seats on offer.
That left it 18 seats clear of the majority mark.
The Aam Aadmi Party finished second with 20 seats.
That was on 38.5% of the vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate.
The campaign
Congress president Sonia Gandhi named Amarinder Singh president of the Punjab Congress on 27 November 2015, replacing Partap Singh Bajwa and positioning him to lead the party's campaign for the 2017 election.1
On 15 January 2016 Manpreet Singh Badal, a former Akali finance minister who had broken away to form the People's Party of Punjab, merged that party into Congress after meeting party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.2
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal accused Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia of links to Punjab's drug trade at campaign rallies. In May 2016 Majithia filed a criminal defamation case against Kejriwal, Ashish Khetan and Sanjay Singh over the claims.3
On 25 August 2016 a sting video surfaced showing AAP's Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur allegedly accepting cash tied to ticket allocation. The party sacked him, and he went on to form his own outfit, the Apna Punjab Party.4
Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had quit the BJP the previous year, formally joined Congress on 9 January 2017 after meeting Rahul Gandhi, weeks before contesting and winning the Amritsar East seat.5
- 1Amarinder Singh Named Punjab Congress President Ahead of 2017 Race — Tribune News Service (rana-sodhi-hails-ppcc-reshuffle)
- 2Manpreet Badal Merges People's Party of Punjab into Congress — Manpreet Singh Badal
- 3Kejriwal Accuses Majithia of Drug-Trade Links; Majithia Files Defamation Case — Majithia appears before court in defamation case - The Tribune, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia's Arrest in 'Drug Money' Case Sparks Political Storm in Punjab - The Wire
- 4AAP Sacks Punjab Convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur After Cash Sting — Caught in sting: AAP Punjab convenor Sucha Singh Chhotepur likely to be sacked by Arvind Kejriwal for accepting 'cash' - India.com, AAP likely to sack Punjab chief after sting operation - Gulf News
- 5Navjot Singh Sidhu Joins Congress Ahead of Punjab Poll — Navjot Singh Sidhu, Navjot Sidhu likely to join Cong on Jan 9 after Rahul returns - The Tribune
What changed
The Shiromani Akali Dal government collapsed, its long winning streak coming to an end.
It had won 2 elections in a row before this one.
Most of the seats that changed hands moved from the SAD to the INC.
That covered 34 of the 74 seats statewide.
The INC itself grew from 46 seats to 77 this time.
A brand new party, the AAP, took its place as runner-up on debut.
Notable numbers
The closest race was at Fazilka, Punjab, decided by 265 votes.
Patiala, Punjab was won by the widest margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of the election, at 49.3% of the vote.
Gidderbaha, Punjab recorded the highest turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — of the election, 89.0%.
Dera Bassi, Punjab was the state's largest constituency by registered voters, with 2,39,885 names on its rolls.
Sanour, Punjab drew the most crowded ballot in the state, 18 candidates in one race.
NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 1,08,456 votes statewide, 0.7% of the total.
The backdrop
Parliament's Punjab Reorganisation Act took effect on 1 November 1966, when most of the state's territory formed the new state of Haryana and its hill districts transferred to Himachal Pradesh.6
Chandigarh became a shared union territory capital for both states, and the 1967 assembly election was the first held on Punjab's reduced map.6
Every Punjab assembly election since 1967, including this one, has been fought on that same reduced map.6
- 6Punjab Reorganisation Act splits off Haryana and Himachal hill areas — Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966