Punjab Assembly poll is crucial both for AAP and the Congress almost for the same reason - 2024 Lok Sabha election

 

Punjab is crucial for national ambition of Kejriwal, revival of Congress

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

Amritsar East would be the game changer in the state but at another level, Punjab is crucial for national ambition of Aam Aadmi Party chief and Chief Minister of semi-state Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and establishment of Rahul Gandhi as a leader to command the Congress in 2024 Lok Sabha poll.

The successful agrarian struggle that originated in Punjab is interestingly impacting the election discourse more in Uttar Pradesh where the Bharatiya Janata Party is facing the heat particularly in the western belt. In Punjab itself, this struggle might have dictated the electoral dynamics more strategically  in case a section of the farmer leaders had not formed the Sanyukat Kisan Morcha to enter the fray hurriedly.

Fielding Bikram Singh Majithia to confront state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in Amritsar East is a master stroke by Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Majithia has also filed his nomination papers from his traditional Majitha seat.

Amritsar East is going to witness the most tense as well as intense election in Punjab and this seat alone might prove to be the booster shot for the Akali campaign in the entire state. Majithia facing the case under NDPS Act is not going to matter much despite the fact that the state for long has been witnessing politics over drug mafia operating under political patronage. Every party now talks of making the state drug free.

Punjab is one state where almost every issue gets magnified like the case of increasing debt although burden on several other states in the country is much more comparatively.

Kejriwal has been marketing his Delhi model but his problem is that he is the chief minister of a semi-state and he has to prove himself in a state and Punjab has been a fertile ground for his party since 2014 when this state sprang a surprise by electing four MPs on AAP ticket. This party has been focussing on Punjab since then but despite the mega-hype in 2017, could manage to win only 20 seats but succeeded in relegating the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance to the third position. However, the legislature wing of the party could not even stay together and this is one reason for the rejuvenation of the Akali Dal.

Kejriwal needs Punjab desperately to expand his footprint and it is for this reason that this election is crucial for him. However, his party is shunning several sensitive political issues like release of the Sikh political prisoners who have completed jail terms but are still waiting for their release. One of the most prominent cases is that of Prof. Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar. The Akali Dal too is fervently pleading this case.

Increasing his party’s footprint at this stage is a must for Kejriwal to become noticeable dimension in 2024 Lok Sabha election. Presently, the role of this party is that of a spoiler.

Rahul Gandhi faces strong predicament of announcing  his party’s chief ministerial face and the candidates are Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Both of them presented their case from the stage at Jalandhar before their leader while also promising to abide by the final choice.

Gandhi’s problem is that Channi is the first Dalit chief minister in Punjab where this section constituted 32 per cent of the population but is not cohesive. This section is now perceived to be getting consolidated for the first time since Channi’s elevation. His commoner style poses challenge to the Aam Aadmi Party too as he projects himself as the real Aam Aadmi. Both Channi and Kejriwal are trying to outcompete each other in this Aam Aadmi domain.

It may be mentioned that arrogance has become part of the culture of the ruling elite in this state during the last about two decades and hence the importance of the Aam Aadmi image.

In this fiercely contested election by these three parties, two other dimensions are being perceived to play the role of the spoiler and this role is going to affect the outcome in several seats adding to the uncertainty.

The focus, of course, would now be on Amritsar East. Its reverberations would be felt for long.