Punjab election results: The Aam Aadmi Party is leading on 89 seats in the 117-member assembly
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is heading for a massive victory in Punjab. Within the first four hours of counting itself, AAP had taken the lead in over 90 of the 117 assembly seats in the state.
What caught our attention was a tweet on the party's official handle that read, “YES". The hashtag read, "AAP Sweeps Punjab”. So, what's special about this tweet? Well, AAP had linked it to an earlier post by England pacer Jofra Archer, that read, “Sweep.”
As much as he is revered on the cricket field, Jofra Archer enjoys a unique stature among his fans on social media. Users often try to find out the context of the speedster's short but cryptic tweets.
Now, with the AAP heading for a resounding victory in Punjab, the party's social media team, with its finger right on the pulse, has culled out this February 20 tweet by the England cricketer.
Earlier, Jofra Archer's “March 24th?” tweet from March 2013 was linked to the first coronavirus-induced lockdown announcement in India. Another one from the same year, which simply said “Lights out”, was hailed as a prediction of the blackout in Mumbai due to power grid failure in October 2020.
Even on February 24 this year, when Russia invaded Ukraine, one of Jofra Archer's old tweets from 2014 resurfaced. It had said, “Come on Russia.”
As the election result trends showed AAP winning in Punjab, Mr Kejriwal met Bhagwant Mann, the party's chief ministerial candidate in the state. Mr Kejriwal also tweeted a photo of himself and Mr Mann.
By 9 am itself on Thursday, it was evident that Punjab had welcomed AAP, which had finished second in the state in the last election five years ago.