Amit Shah predicts AAP loss in Punjab, blames Congress over vote‑theft claims

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Aam Aadmi Party will be voted out of power in Punjab’s Assembly elections next year. He made the remark while addressing a crowd in Dwarka after inaugurating projects worth Rs 8,941 crore for the Delhi Jal Board and the Yamuna River clean‑up. Shah accused the Congress and its allies of raising “vote chori” claims to protect infiltrators’ voting rights and of refusing to accept the BJP’s electoral wins. He listed the states where the Congress has been out of power: Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh for 41 years, West Bengal for 54 years, Tamil Nadu for 64 years, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh without a full‑majority government for 28 years, and also 12 years in Arunachal Pradesh, 13 years in Mizoram, 14 years in Manipur, 18 years in Delhi and 12 years in Assam, all before the Modi government took office. Shah targeted Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, saying he will not return to power in the next 30 years and criticized his overseas trips. He said opposition parties show double standards on the Election Commission, EVMs and voter lists, accepting the process when results favour them in Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, but questioning it elsewhere. Shah added that the opposition’s protests in Delhi with workers from neighboring states cannot overturn the people’s mandate. Referring to a recent visit to Punjab, he claimed the drug trade flourishes under the AAP government and that voters have decided to bring the NDA to power, promising a drug‑free Punjab by 2029. ## Context The upcoming Assembly election will decide which party runs Punjab for the next term. The NDA is a centre‑led coalition that includes the BJP.