Punjab politics today resembles less of a democracy and more of a never-ending reality show where the ruling and opposition leaders seem less interested in governance and more determined to outdo each other in sheer theatrics. The ruling AAP government, with its endless “special sessions” and “historic resolutions,” seems to believe that running Punjab is about delivering speeches with dramatic pauses, followed by selfies on the Assembly floor. It is almost as if governance is measured not in roads repaired or hospitals improved, but in hashtags trended on Twitter.
The opposition, meanwhile, is no less a performer. The Congress benches have perfected the art of shouting “dictatorship” even before the ruling party opens its mouth, while the Akalis keep reminding everyone of their “golden era,” a period most Punjabis remember less for prosperity and more for potholes and power cuts. The BJP, though a minor player in Punjab, ensures it isn’t left behind in this theatre by issuing press notes that sound like forwarded WhatsApp jokes, only without the punchline.
Debates inside the Assembly often resemble a school play where each actor forgets his lines, improvises wildly, and then blames the stage lights for the chaos. The ruling side calls itself the messiah of change, but conveniently blames the “past governments” for every pothole, unpaid bill, and broken ceiling fan. The opposition leaders, on the other hand, seem to have discovered time travel: they promise the people that “next time” they’ll undo all the damage they themselves caused when they were in power.
While farmers wait for crop payments, teachers wait for salaries, and patients wait for medicines in government hospitals, the leaders remain busy waiting for their chance to grab the microphone and go viral on social media. In short, Punjab politics has become an endless tug of war where the rope is frayed, the players are exhausted, and the spectators — the common people — are wondering if anyone remembers that the point was to pull the state forward.