Nothing has changed in Punjab in the last four and a half years

Dissatisfaction prevails among voters and AAP workers in Punjab.

On March 16, 2027, the Aam Aadmi Party will complete 5 years in power in Punjab (compared to full statehood in Delhi). In 2022, Punjab placed full trust in the Aam Aadmi Party and gave it a full majority. 'Rangla Punjab' has only been visible in political dialogue and propaganda, while in reality, the Aam Aadmi Party is now dependent on honorarium payments for mothers, sisters, and daughters to go back to elections. Dissatisfaction with the 'changes' made in Punjab during the four-and-a-half-year tenure, along with the promises of 'absolute honesty' and system change, is prevalent among the state's voters, as well as among their own supporters, workers, and legislators.

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The foundation of the Aam Aadmi Party's politics emerged from the anti-corruption movement. The promise of a strong Lokpal and corruption-free governance was prominent in Punjab's 2022 manifesto. However, after the term of Punjab's Lokpal Justice Vinod Kumar Sharma ended on October 8, 2025, a new Lokpal was not appointed until September 2026. The matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which sought a response from the government regarding this delay.

The party that made the Lokpal a symbol of its politics has no answer as to why the Lokpal position remained vacant in its own state government for almost a year. Punjab has not been able to appoint a regular police chief for the past 4.5 years.

At the beginning of 2023, several officers from the Punjab Civil Service (PCS) and IAS went on a five-day collective strike. This administrative strike began when the state's Vigilance Bureau arrested a senior officer, while the bureaucracy believed that the government had not obtained proper approval for this action.

There was considerable tug-of-war for the highest administrative position in Punjab, which peaked at the end of 2024 when 1992 batch IAS officer K.A.P. Sinha was suddenly appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Punjab, replacing Anurag Verma. Anurag Verma was demoted and given the responsibility of Additional Chief Secretary in the state's Revenue and Agriculture Department.

Opposition parties and political analysts linked this sudden reshuffle to the ongoing tension behind the scenes between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the central leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party based in Delhi, led by Arvind Kejriwal.

The Punjab Cabinet passed a controversial order, under which the Chief Minister was stripped of his traditional role as the chairman of the state's major development authorities—such as the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Board (PRTPD)—and these powers were directly transferred to the Chief Secretary. Opposition leaders, including Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, condemned this move, calling it a "dangerous erosion" of democratic principles. They alleged that sidelining an elected Chief Minister and granting powers to an unelected bureaucrat weakened the democratic governance system.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated an investigation into the alleged administrative "rate card" scam in the state, where it is claimed that good postings and transfers of bureaucrats were being conducted in exchange for cash. The ED pressured the Punjab Police to file an FIR based on evidence pointing to a corruption racket involving 'cash for transfers'. This led to a situation of denial and confrontation between the state police and the central agency, which became a serious constitutional issue in the High Court. The opposition repeatedly demanded the Chief Minister's resignation, alleging that senior political officials in the Chief Minister's office were involved in this racket.

In July 2026, former state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sunil Jakhar, made serious allegations against the Aam Aadmi Party government regarding the politicization of the state's bureaucracy and the criminalization of politics. Jakhar stated that during the local body elections and subsequently during the elections for mayors and municipal council presidents, the Bhagwant Mann government used the bureaucracy and unprecedentedly weakened the democratic process.

The Punjab government has come under significant political controversy after issuing a 'Letter of Intent' (LoI) to a private company, Adglobal360 India Pvt. Ltd., to manage its online reputation and citizen feedback. According to official documents from the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), the total cost of this contract is ₹10,59,00,000. Its purpose is to assist in online reputation management, analytics, and public communication. Opposition leaders have strongly criticized this move.

They have accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of wasting taxpayers' money to build its praise and image. Leaders from the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have stated that the ruling party is using public funds to garner praise on social media while pushing the state deeper into economic crisis.

Punjab has fallen into a severe economic crisis and a growing debt trap, which is continuously weakening the state's financial situation. Once known as the granary of the country, Punjab is now struggling to pay salaries to its employees and manage basic services. The total outstanding debt has exceeded ₹4.17 lakh crore. It is reported that by 2027, the estimated debt could reach ₹4.48 lakh crore.

Approximately 25% of revenue income is being spent solely on repaying debt and interest. An annual budget of ₹2 lakh 60 thousand 437 crore has been presented for 2026-27. According to the budget estimates for 2026-27, Punjab's revenue deficit is estimated at ₹21,955 crore, which is 2.2% of GSDP, and the fiscal deficit is estimated at ₹39,971 crore, which is 4.1%. The revised estimate for the fiscal deficit in 2025-26 was 4.2%. By the end of March 2026, the state's outstanding liabilities were estimated to be approximately 45.1% of GSDP.

The Aam Aadmi Party government has included the provision of a large number of government jobs among its achievements. However, judicial intervention has also emerged regarding recruitment processes. In 2026, the Punjab and Haryana High Court imposed a stay on the appointment of pharmacy officials, raising questions about alleged fraud/irregularities in the recruitment examination. Judicial questions have also arisen regarding the selection process for appointments under the Punjab State Rural Livelihood Mission.

In 2022, the Aam Aadmi Party made a significant political promise to make Punjab drug-free. However, in 2026, drug abuse remains at the center of Punjab's politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party has made this issue a major electoral point through its drug-free Punjab campaign. After being in power for more than four and a half years, there is still no clarity on the outcome of the anti-drug campaign.

The failure of the drug-free Punjab campaign was exposed in a recent incident when a person asked a question at a public meeting of Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and later committed suicide due to harassment.

Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Singh Mann, who promised justice in the case of the desecration of Shri Guru Granth Sahib, are now silent. Their party's MLA from Amritsar, former police officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, has cornered Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant with questions, leading to his expulsion from the party.

The law and order situation in Punjab has also been a testing ground for the Aam Aadmi Party government.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an investigation into the possible collusion of police officials regarding gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's 2023 TV interview, one of which was conducted while he was in Punjab police custody. Opposition parties like Congress and BJP have alleged that the law and order situation in Punjab is extremely concerning. They claim that extortion calls and criminal conspiracies are still ongoing from within jails without any hindrance.

Critics and political leaders also argue that the open firing and criminal incidents are increasing the sense of insecurity among ordinary citizens. The state administration and government are citing large-scale police forces and special operations to eliminate gangsters, while opposition parties and analysts categorize this entirely as a failure of the current government.

Kejriwal has claimed from platforms that there should be an audit of the government's policies as to why Punjab has reached such a state. If we look at the political audit of the Aam Aadmi Party's government in Punjab, it should also be assessed how much the AAP government has lived up to these 10 questions. The Aam Aadmi Party's promise in 2022 was to "change the system." Therefore, the evaluation in 2027 will not only be based on how many schemes it has launched but also on what and how much institutional change or reform it has made regarding Punjab's old structural problems—debt, employment, industry, agriculture, drugs, corruption, and administrative accountability, or whether the situation has worsened further.