Paper short abstract:

This paper will examine the campaign and results of the of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.

Paper long abstract:

The election of the Shromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP state government in 2012 surprised most seasoned observers. Remarkably, the event has attract little serious analysis or critical reflection. The return of the first non-Congress administration to power marked a major landmark in the process of political regionalisation. By examining in detail the political campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the results, this paper will assess to what extent the emergence of non-Congress coalition in Punjab represents a new, quasi-permanent political configuration. The paper will focus on four dimensions: the changing nature of Sikh politics associated with the SAD; the regional strategy of the Punjab BJP and how it shapes national politics; the efforts to revive the Punjab Congress; and the remarkable failure of Dalit politics in the state with one the highest Dalit populations in India. These dimensions, it will argue, provide cross-cutting currents that reflect major changes taking place within the state's economy and society, producing new political formations and reconfiguring existing ones