A series of strikes by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) employees and sanitation workers, and a threat of strike by Aam Aadmi clinics from Monday has emerged as the latest political challenge for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, with the restiveness amongst them threatening the delivery of essential public services and testing the party’s governance narrative ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

Though each agitation is centred around different demands—ranging from regularisation of services and better wages to service conditions—the simultaneous protests have exposed a growing dissatisfaction among sections of the government’s workforce. Political observers say the unrest is significant because government employees and their families constitute an influential vote bank in Punjab.

The state has nearly four lakh government employees and three lakh pensioners, including contractual and outsourced workers. Their issues and demands not just affect their voting decisions but also has an impact on their family members, making them a sizeable voting constituency across urban and rural Punjab. Traditionally, employee unions have enjoyed considerable organisational strength and have often influenced public opinion beyond their own membership.

The impact of the ongoing protests is already being felt. PSPCL employees’ agitation has affected maintenance work and consumer services in several areas, while any escalation could potentially disrupt power-related operations across the state. The threat of strike by contractual employees at Aam Aadmi Clinics has raised concerns over the functioning of the AAP government’s flagship healthcare initiatives. Meanwhile, the ongoing protest by sanitation workers has disrupted garbage collection in several towns, leading to mounting waste and public inconvenience over the past few days.

Since the employees protest spans three sectors—power, healthcare and sanitation—that directly shape citizens’ day-to-day experience of governance, a prolonged strike, especially by the power department employees, threatens to turn public anger against the government. In response, the state government has deputed different ministers to hold immediate parleys with the agitating unions to end the stir.

The timing of these agitations is hardly accidental. In Punjab, employee unions have historically intensified their movements in the run-up to elections, calculating that governments become more responsive to their demands when political stakes are high. Their objective is to maximise bargaining power before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force and fiscal decisions become politically sensitive. The pattern has repeated itself across successive governments, including the Congress or the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government.