Political parties in Punjab offer same old wine in same old bottles going by menu of candidates presented so far

 

Menu of candidates offered by political parties in Punjab so far lack variety

Ground Zero

Chandigarh

 

It is the same old wine in the same old bottles.

This is the summing up of the electoral scenario in Punjab following announcement of most of the candidates by the three of the competing parties going by the lists released so far.

The Congress is the latest to release first instalment of 86 candidates with some fusion of new faces. The list contains most of the sitting MLAs.

The party so far has adhered to the criteria of one family-one ticket and competing from the same seat again.

The names of almost all the senior leaders barring former state party chief Sunil Jakhar have been included in the first list. A member from the Jakhar clan, of course, has been fielded from Abohar, the seat earlier represented by Jakhars. Sunil Jakhar has been miffed and critical of the party especially in Punjab after his name was first floated as replacement for then chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and dropped on the pretext of opting for a Sikh face as no Hindu has been the Punjab chief minister since reorganisation of the state in 1966.

It is to be seen whether the Gandhi family would subject itself to the one family-one ticket formula when the time comes.

Going by the list released far, the Congress seems to have opted for playing safe as Punjab is critical for its future and also that of Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress leaders who have not made it to the list has the choice of joining the BJP-led alliance that includes Punjab Lok Congress of Capt Amarinder Singh and the break-away Akali faction headed by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

The newly floated Sanyukt Samaj Morcha representing major section of the farmer bodies that fought a successful battle forcing repeal of the contentious three farm laws is in the process of finalising its candidates for all the 117 seats following break down of talks with the Aam Aadmi Party.

It is AAP that seems to be more rattled and has fired the first salvo at the farmer leaders by levelling the seemingly illogical allegation that they were playing into the hands of the BJP. The farmer struggle in which more than 700 lives were lost was against the BJP government headed by Narendra Modi.

The agrarian struggle earlier seemed to be impacting the political dynamics by making the political parties accountable but that important dimension is now missing even from the agenda of the SSM which is also falling in the traditional pattern.

Punjab is witnessing discourse on what can be termed as Alternative and Punjab Model but without stirring the imagination or dictating the perception.

The Shiromani Akali Dal had taken the initiative by way of launching the poll campaign early and announcing the candidates who have covered a lot of ground as compared to others.

It is clear that in this 5-polar election, what could matter more would be the perception about the candidates.

Going by the announcements already being made to win over the votes, the manifestos would be just Daal-Cheeni menu-cards.

Those who were worrying about Punjab would have to continue with the same concerns.

This is also the election unlike others in the context of ban of physical campaigning that has now been extended until January 22.

The virtual campaigning excludes a big chunk of the population, especially the marginalised sections, from the electoral process and is thus anti-people.

Some relief has been provided by granting relaxation to the political parties to organise indoor meetings of not more than 300 persons or 50 per cent of the prescribed capacity of the hall or prescribed limit set by the State Disaster Management Authority  (SDMA).

Prime Minister Modi has already addressed some big rallies and his decision to launch campaign in Punjab on January 5 from Ferozepur failed due to multiple reasons, including the empty chairs at the venue that would have greeted him.

 What is clear so far is that the waste discarded by one party can’t be asset for the other.