Since its constitution in March 2022, the 16th Punjab Legislative Assembly has witnessed a series of general and special sessions that reflect both the routine legislative business of a state government and the extraordinary crises that Punjab has faced. From budget debates to water disputes and natural disasters, the Assembly has become a stage for the ruling government to demonstrate its resolve, often through unanimous resolutions, though the outcomes have been mixed.
The journey began with the first session in March–April 2022, which was largely ceremonial, marked by the swearing-in of members, the election of the Speaker, and the Governor’s address. A short special sitting on April 1, 2022 dealt with procedural matters, symbolizing the beginning of AAP’s legislative control. Soon after, the second session in June 2022 focused on the government’s first budget, emphasising health, agriculture, and free electricity promises. These debates, while ambitious, also highlighted the financial strains Punjab faced.
In September 2022, the third session turned the spotlight on power subsidies, farm debt relief, and job creation. The Assembly discussed bold measures, but the resolutions seeking central financial backing did not materialize into action. The fourth session from March to June 2023 carried the weight of a full budget session, where education reforms and new “schools of eminence” were announced. A significant resolution asserting Punjab’s claim over Chandigarh was passed, but the Union government rejected it, limiting the result to political symbolism.
The fifth session in November 2023 dealt with law and order, drug trafficking, and the state’s mounting fiscal deficit. A resolution demanded greater cooperation from the Union on border security, yet the Centre’s insistence on its own exclusive jurisdiction left the state without concrete gains. The sixth session in March 2024 carried forward budgetary exercises and included a resolution urging a central loan waiver for farmers, another politically popular move that found no acceptance in Delhi.
During the seventh session in September 2024, debates shifted towards education, health, and cooperative banks. Resolutions were introduced to protect Punjab’s autonomy in cooperative structures, though these too remained limited to assertion rather than implementation. The eighth session in March 2025 revisited fiscal concerns, with the Assembly demanding an extension of GST compensation beyond 2026, a plea that reflected Punjab’s economic vulnerabilities but was ultimately ignored by the Union government.
The Assembly showed its political teeth more clearly in May 2025, when a special one-day sitting was convened to oppose the Bhakra–Beas Management Board’s decision to release more water to Haryana. A unanimous resolution declared that Punjab would not part with “a single drop” of water beyond 4,000 cusecs for humanitarian drinking needs. The resolution boosted Punjab’s political stance on water rights but carried no binding force, as the BBMB was backed by the Centre. The matter moved into the courts, highlighting the limits of Assembly resolutions in federal disputes.
Just months later, the state was hit by a devastating flood, prompting the government to call a special four-day session from September 26 to 29, 2025. This sitting saw some of the sharpest debates in recent memory, with the Assembly demanding ₹20,000 crore in central relief while denouncing the previously announced ₹1,600 crore as grossly inadequate. Resolutions were passed, promises of new compensation laws were made, and the ruling party accused the Centre of apathy. While the political messaging was strong, the practical outcomes remain uncertain as Punjab awaits a response from the Union.
Across these years, the Assembly has thus held nine general sessions and multiple special sittings, balancing routine legislative functions with extraordinary interventions in times of crisis. Resolutions passed on issues like Chandigarh, water disputes, farmers’ loans, GST compensation, and flood relief have succeeded in generating public momentum and strengthening the ruling party’s narrative of defending Punjab’s interests. Yet, the tangible results have often been limited. When the resolutions involved demands from the Union government — whether financial relief or changes to central bodies like the BBMB — they produced more political pressure than immediate policy change. At the state level, some promises, like free electricity and new education schemes, were implemented, though critics argue the pace and impact remain uneven.
Political Gains: Ruling Party vs. Opposition
For the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), these sessions provided a powerful platform to project itself as the defender of Punjab’s rights. Whether it was the Chandigarh resolution, the BBMB water dispute, or the flood relief demand, AAP used the Assembly to portray itself as standing firm against what it calls the Union government’s neglect of Punjab. Each resolution, even when symbolic, allowed the government to shift public anger away from its own administrative lapses and towards Delhi, reinforcing the narrative of a state-versus-Centre struggle.
For the opposition parties — Congress, SAD, and BJP — the Assembly has been a stage to highlight AAP’s failures in execution. They repeatedly questioned why, despite loud resolutions and dramatic protests, tangible benefits for farmers, flood victims, or unemployed youth remain elusive. The opposition framed AAP’s strategy as “headline politics” — heavy on symbolism but weak on delivery. They particularly gained traction during the 2025 flood debates, when questions of disaster preparedness and relief distribution exposed administrative shortcomings despite AAP’s fiery rhetoric against the Centre.
In effect, the Assembly sessions became political battlegrounds where the ruling party sought legitimacy through resolutions and populist measures, while the opposition countered by exposing gaps between words and action. The net result has been a legislature that often makes news for its assertive resolutions, but leaves citizens waiting for the promised outcomes.