Punjab Election 2022 | Malwa, Majha & Doaba - the three regions and their importance

Punjab --- the land of five rivers.

The Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum define the geography.

But it's the three regions of the state, again carved out by the rivers, that define its politics.

All through the election season you will hear Malwa, Majha and Doaba. The three regions that make up Punjab politically. All the three regions have their distinct social, economic and political identity.

The Majha region of present-day Punjab falls between the Ravi and the Beas. Then begins Doaba, which literally means the land between two rivers. It starts from the Beas and goes on till the Sutlej. Beyond the Sutlej lies the Malwa region, the biggest of the three.

First let's take a closer look at Malwa region:

Malwa: The Political Monopoly

It's the largest region with 69 of Punjab's 117 Assembly seats.

All but two CMs of the state have been from this region.

Current CM Channi, former CMs Captain Amarinder Singh and Badal come from Malwa.

2017: Congress won 40 of 69 seats, AAP made an impressive debut winning 18 seats in the region.

Akalis lost their traditional stronghold and could only win 8 seats in Malwa.

Aam Aadmi Party won all of its 4 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 from Malwa region.

Malwa was also the epicentre of the year-long farm agitation. According to a Punjab University study, around 80 per cent of the 700-odd farmers who died during the protests belonged to the Malwa region.

Glaring inequality in landholdings with big landlords holding hundreds of acres while majority make do with little landholdings.

Majha: Where Religion and Politics Mix

Majha region is nestled between Ravi and Beas rivers, on border with Pakistan.

Majha means ‘in the middle’, and it used to be the centre of undivided Punjab before Partition.

With 25 Assembly seats, Majha is the hotbed of "panthic" or religious politics in the state.

Home to Golden Temple in Amritsar and Kartarpur Corridor that connects to Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

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Region has traditionally been a stronghold of Akali Dal, but that changed in 2017

In 2017, the Congress won 22 seats, and the SAD was marginalised to just 2.

AAP is yet to open its account in the region.

Doaba: The Dalit votebank

Lying between the Satluj and Beas, Doaba means between two rivers.

Most prosperous region of Punjab due to its fertile land and NRI remittances.

Smallest region in Punjab politically, with 23 assembly seats.

Important in terms of Dalit votes with SC population ranging from 25% to 75% in its seats.

Dalits form 32% of Punjab's population, highest in the country.

Epicentre of the Deras, birthplace of the Dalit Renaissance.

The SC population here is better educated, more prosperous, and socially integrated.

A Congress citadel as party won 15 seats in 2017, five went to SAD and two to the AAP.

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