He is proud, not poor. While many rural voters still give Bhagwant Mannโs government a thumbs-up, the Panthic voter gives it a firm thumbs-down. Barely one in five credits the womenโs cash transfer. One respondent asked: โNang thodi aa lok, 1,500 naal rajj jange (are these people beggars, to be satisfied with Rs 1,500)?โ
This politics is about anakh (self-respect) and resentment of Delhiโs dakhal-andazi (interference) as much as it is about scripture.
The Panthic voterโs loyalty is not set in stone. Only about two in five of those who voted for Amritpal or Sarabjeet in 2024 plan to stay with the new party. At the same time, about a quarter of todayโs committed Panthic voters are former AAP voters โ one in seven did not vote in 2024. The Panthic vote is less a fortress than a busy railway platform, with passengers getting on and off at every station.
It is a one-leader movement with no use for national leaders. Unlike the Badal loyalist, who votes for the party symbol, the Panthic voter weighs the candidate first.
More than three-quarters of the core name Amritpal as their favourite, while Mann, the old standard-bearer, has all but vanished. Nearly nine in ten name no national leader at all; Modi barely registers.
The reel has replaced the village sath. Four in five get their political news from Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. Support grows pind by pind (village). In some villages, two out of three voters are Panthic. Once the gurdwara committee or the youth club turns, the entire pind often follows.
Events also matter. After the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Jhota in October, many sympathisers in the area hardened into committed Panthic voters almost overnight.
In the rural Malwa belt, the Panthic and Badal votes together make up between one-third to two-fifths of the electorate. That is enough to decide who rules Punjab, but only if it votes as one.
History is clear: the Panth has been most powerful when it marched as one jatha (band), and most irrelevant when its leaders fought over the siropa (robe of honour).
Harjeshwar Pal Singhย teaches history in SGGS College, Chandigarh. More of his writingย here
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