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Congress fields Chief Minister Channi from second seat of Bhadaur to confront AAP in Malwa and further consolidate SC sections

 


Congress counters AAP in Malwa by fielding Channi from Bhadaur as second seat

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

Following decision of the Shiromani Akali Dal to pin down Navjot Singh Sidhu to his Amritsar East seat by pitting Bikram Singh Majitha against him besides his traditional Majitha seat thereby giving a new twist to electoral dynamics in Punjab, the Congress seems to have made similar strategic move by fielding Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from the second seat of Bhadaur in the Malwa heartland, the region  where the Aam Aadmi Party is perceived to be in strong position. This party had received strong support in 2017 too in the broader Malwa region that includes Puadh area.

It may be recalled that in the 2017 election, Capt Amarinder Singh too had contested from Lambi as second seat against then chief minister and Akali Dal stalwart Parkash Singh Badal but that was more of his symbolic presence and it did not make any difference.

Channi’s fielding from the second seat can also be seen in the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi being under pressure to announce the chief ministerial face to command the election. State party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has been aggressively lobbying for himself and marketing his ‘Punjab Model’ of development to reinforce his claim.

AAP has been projecting itself as the alternative to the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal but has inducted in its fold rejects from the other parties. This move contradicts its claim of presenting an alternative.

Malwa at one time was the Akali bastion, especially after the party leadership underwent change from urban to rural, mainly from the Malwa region.

Both in Doaba and Majha regions, the Congress is facing main challenge from the Akali Dal barring a few seats where AAP is strong position. It is mainly in the Malwa region that the contest is triangular in reality, although this election is 5-dimensional.

Punjab’s 32 per cent scheduled caste population was earlier never cohesive as this section too is multi-layered  and is also divided among Sikhs and the Hindus. The scheduled castes in Punjab are unlike in Uttar Pradeh or Bihar where they stand completely marginalised at every level.

Punjabi society is not compartmentalised like these states and moreover, especially in Doaba, Dalits are economically powerful and assertive. The scheduled castes of Malwa are different from Doaba.

It is for the first time that this section is being perceived to be getting consolidated following elevation of Channi as the chief minister who belongs to this section.

Channi’s presence in Bhadaur in Barnala district in the Malwa hinterland could boost up the Congress and further consolidate the scheduled castes.

This could trigger intense polarisatioon between the Congress and AAP in this region. Deep polarisation between these two formations could be advantage Shiromani Akali Dal.

Significantly, Arvind Kejriwal has started shifting his focus and is now trying to make inroads into the Hindu sections. Here again, he should know that the Hindu of Punjab is different from the Hindu in the cow belt.

Kejriwal’s statement regarding law against conversions made yesterday can be seen in this context. But then conversions is not an issue in Punjab.

The Shiromani Akali Dal is now more acceptable to Hindus in Punjab going by the experience during the last about two decades, especially when Sukhbir Singh Badal experimented with inducting the highest ever Hindu candidates in 2012, majority of whom had won. This was a shift away from the traditional Sikh support base.

AAP had main support base among the Sikhs who had got alienated from the Akali Dal for various reasons and this party had also received massive back up from the Punjabi NRIs.

The people are disgusted with non-performance of the Congress government headed by Capt Amarinder Singh who had to be replaced by Channi. However, the damage had already been done by the time Rahul Gandhi asserted himself.

The situation in Punjab continues to witness changes almost every day.

After all, this is the state whose political dynamics is different from all the other regions in India.

 

 


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