The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced that the Punjab Legislative Assembly polls will be held in a single phase in February.
The state, which has traditionally known only two parties taking the helm for many years - Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal - will see a larger variety of choices of candidates to select from when it goes to vote on February 14. The votes will be counted on March 10.
The border state has recently seen a number of political issues crop up. One of the key issues that cropped up was the year-long protest against the Centre's three farm laws, where farmers from the state flocked to the borders of Delhi, persistently demanding the laws be repealed, causing significant blockage of traffic in the national capital region.
More recently, the Congress government in the state saw serious internal strife, with former CM Amarinder Singh and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu repeatedly coming to blows. The two repeatedly exchanged heated words, with Singh accusing Sidhu of being "anti-national". Singh quit as the CM in September and was replaced with Charanjit Singh Channi, with Sidhu continuing on as the PCC chief.
The state government and the Centre have also come to blows in the last week, when PM Narendra Modi faced a security breach while visiting Ferozepur to unveil development projects. The issue snowballed into a major controversy, with PM Modi himself "thanking" CM Channi for "returning alive", to the Congress claiming that the PM returned because of empty chairs at the Ferozepur venue.
The battle for the 117 Assembly seats will see multiple parties - both national and regional - go solo, and in alliances with other parties. Here are the major parties in the fray:
Congress:
The Grand Old Party is aiming to go into the elections solo amid internal rumblings within its government.
Aam Aadmi Party:
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party, which currently holds power in Delhi, is aiming to expand into a national party with Punjab and other states on its own, instead of an alliance with any others.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha:
Though technically it is an umbrella body of farmers, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha took on political ambitions in the fallout of the year-long protests against the three farm laws. It will be contesting the polls alone.
BJP-PLC alliance:
The saffron party is aiming for power in the border state in an alliance with the recently-formed Punjab Lok Congress, which is headed by former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh.
SAD-BSP:
The Shiromani Akali Dal - one of the two traditional powerholders of Punjab - is adopting an alliance strategy for this year's election, joining hands with former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party.
Recently, actor-philanthropist Sonu Sood announced that his sister, Malvika Sood Sacher, would take the plunge into the electoral politics of the state, though neither sibling has indicated which party she will contest with, or whether she will remain independent. Sood himself said that he has no such plans for himself.
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