In Punjab’s Jat Sikh-dominated politics, AAP’s Harpal Singh Cheema emerging as an ‘acceptable’ leader

Political experts say Mr. Cheema stands a good chance of acceptability as a pan-State leader, due to the current vacuum in Dalit leadership in Punjab, where Scheduled Castes make up almost 32% of the population

With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab inching close to completing nine months in power, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who has been dealing with the stiffest task of bringing the cash-strapped State back on track fiscally, has seemingly demonstrated an assertive style of leadership. Hailing from the Scheduled Caste community, Mr. Cheema enjoys the party high command’s confidence, and is being seen by many as an emerging ‘acceptable leader’ in the Jat Sikh-dominated politics of Punjab.

The two-time MLA from the Dibra constituency first won the Assembly polls in 2017. Since then, it has been no looking back for the rather soft-spoken leader, who has been demonstrating his assertive leadership style within the party and in State politics.

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His acceptability as a senior leader among the party cadre has grown with the passage of time, and as he stood by the party during tough times and crises, the party’s confidence in him has also grown. In 2018, when the party saw an internal rebellion by almost half of its 20 MLAs and was in disarray, the party expressed its confidence in Mr. Cheema and appointed him as the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, where he rose to the occasion and led his party from the front to counter the then-Congress government in Punjab on several public-centric issues.

When the AAP formed the government in the State earlier this year, Mr. Cheema was sworn in to the State cabinet. After Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, he holds the most powerful portfolios, including the Finance Ministry. In September, when the Chief Minister was on a tour of Germany, it was Mr. Cheema, who held the fort for the party in the State in his absence, at a time when the AAP had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to topple its government by offering bribes to its legislators. The BJP dismissed the allegation, saying the AAP was attempting to divert public attention from its governance failures.

Mr. Cheema is an advocate by profession, coming from a humble background in rural Punjab. He has been working to establish himself as the common man’s leader by holding weekly meetings in his constituency, to not lose connection with the masses.

A sense among a section of the party and political experts is that he stands a good chance of acceptability as a pan-State leader, as there is currently a vacuum in Dalit leadership in the State. Scheduled Castes make up almost 32% of Punjab’s population, which could help the ruling AAP if it plays its cards well to gain the trust of Dalit voters in the near future. Ahead of the 2022 Assembly election, the Congress party had bet its fortunes on the Dalit votebank by appointing Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister, but it failed to reap the dividends as it was percieved to be giving a message of “Dalit appeasement” just when the polls were around the corner.