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.
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