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A troika of turncoats & an ex-CM battling ‘outsider’ tag make Jalandhar a hot seat
For a long time, Jalandhar was known to be a Congress bastion with the party winning 10 out of the 16 Lok Sabha elections. But AAP’s impressive win during the 2023 Jalandhar bypoll altered the entire political discourse.
With a troika of turncoats and a former CM in the fray, the Jalandhar (reserved) Lok Sabha election is set to be a fierce battle.
The Congress has fielded former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), after being ditched by its sitting MP, has shown gone with former Akali MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu. The Bharatiya Janata Party has poached the sitting AAP MP Sushil Kumar Rinku while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has placed its bets on former Congress MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has nominated Balwinder Kumar as its candidate.
For a long time, Jalandhar was known to be a Congress bastion with the party winning 10 out of the 16 Lok Sabha elections. But AAP’s impressive win during the 2023 Jalandhar bypoll altered the entire political discourse. The Congress has MLAs in five segments of Jalandhar -- Adampur, Phillaur, Jalandhar North, Jalandhar Cantt and Shahkot, while the AAP has four -- Nakodar, Kartarpur, Jalandhar West and Jalandhar Central. However, one of the AAP MLAs, Sheetal Angural from Jalandhar West, joined the BJP along with Rinku.
Considered a politically sensitive seat, the key to Jalandhar lies with its sizeable Dalit population (39%) and the influential Dera Sachakhand Ballan. Situated in Ballan village, 8 km away from Jalandhar, Dera Sachakhand Ballan has never shown any political tilt but is considered to have a strong political clout due to its association with Dalits, especially with Ravidassia community who have a strong presence in the Doaba region. Political parties too are raking up Dalit issues, including the bungling of funds of the post-matric scholarship scheme during the Congress regime and the failure of the AAP government in meeting its promise of appointing Dalit deputy chief minister, to woo voters here.
Channi banks on his Dalit image
Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister, Channi has been left to his own resources to run the campaign as his candidature ruffled feathers of the influential Chaudhary family, which has been associated with the Congress for over 100 years and exerts significant influence over the Dalit voters in certain areas. After two-time Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary died of a cardiac arrest during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in January 2023, the party fielded his wife, Karamjit Kaur, in the bypoll that ensued but she lost to AAP’s Rinku by over 58,000 votes. This time, however, the party put its faith in Channi, who was immediately dubbed an outsider by his detractors for he had to shift base from Chamkaur Sahib. Santokh Chaudhary’s son, Vikramjit Singh, who is the MLA of Phillaur, openly rebelled against Channi and even made some derogatory statements, inviting suspension orders from the party. His mother, meanwhile, joined the BJP. Channi is now banking on his own face value as a prominent Dalit leader and proximity with the deras to turn the tide in his favour.
Challenges galore before BJP’s Rinku
Looking for better political prospects, sitting MP Rinku took no time to hop from AAP to the BJP but found that he had little to show in terms of work. The saffron party itself is in choppy waters here as its candidate during the 2023 bypoll, Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, ended up losing his deposit. In some solace, however, the party had managed a lead in the Jalandhar central and north segments during the bypoll. Rinku’s induction gave the party a boost, especially in urban areas where it has found some support over the Ram Temple consecration. In rural areas, however, it is facing stiff resistance from farmers’ outfits that are furious over the Centre’s action during their agitation. Interestingly, Rinku’s candidature has not gone well with BJP’s old guard.
A turncoat again for the AAP
After bringing Rinku from the Congress to fight the 2023 bypoll, the AAP was forced to bring in another turncoat, Pawan Kumar Tinu from the SAD, to fight the election. The party had initially announced Rinku as its candidate on March 14, but he jumped ship to the BJP on March 28, leaving the AAP red-faced. The party tried to persuade Kartarpur MLA Balkar Singh to contest but he showed reluctance, fearing anti-incumbency against the state government. For the AAP, the battle for Jalandhar is a battle for its own prestige as this is only seat in Punjab where it currently has an MP. During a recent visit, chief minister Bhagwant Mann had told party workers and leaders to win this seat at any cost.
A tough fight for SAD
After losing Tinu to the AAP, the SAD managed to convince two-time Congress MLA and former Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee to enter the poll fray. The party may, however, find the going tough in Jalandhar as it has no prominent Dalit face here. In the 2023 bypoll, SAD candidate Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi had finished at the third spot.
BSP a dark horse
The BSP may emerge the dark horse in this battle given that its candidate in the 2019 elections, Balwinder Kumar, had bagged 20.08% of the total votes. In 2023, the BSP had contested the seat in alliance with the SAD.
