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Jalandhar bypoll: Stakes high, Congress puts up united face
The entire state leadership of the Congress has united behind party candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, the wife of sitting MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary whose death necessitated the bypoll, in its effort to retain the reserved seat
The Congress has pulled out all the stops in the crucial Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, putting up a rare show of unity in the state.
The entire state leadership of the Congress has united behind party candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, the wife of sitting MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary whose death necessitated the bypoll, in its effort to retain the reserved seat. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, leader of opposition in the state assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi are leading the Congress campaign, firing on all cylinders.
Former PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who along with other senior leaders accompanied the Congress candidate when she filed her nomination papers, and campaign committee chairman Rana Gurjeet Singh are among the other senior leaders who are also campaigning in the four-cornered contest. Another four to five present and former MLAs are looking after each of the nine assembly segments that fall in this traditional stronghold of the Congress, which the party has won five times in a row.
Bajwa said the last time the Punjab Congress stood united like this was in the 2017 assembly elections when it won 78 of the 117 assembly seats in the state. “At that time also, it was not united to this extent. Now, it is clear to everyone that if we do not work together, it will be suicidal for the existence of the party,” he said. Another important factor behind the united display is that Santokh Chaudhary was not part of any particular camp in the faction-ridden state unit and kept away from camp rivalries.
Chaudhary’s son and Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary said that after his father passed away, his death united the state Congress, bringing everyone on one platform. “They are all here and doing whatever they can,” he said. Santokh Chaudhary suffered a heart attack while participating in the Punjab leg of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on January 14.
The bypoll, seen as a warm-up for the national polls, is important for the Congress which has been riven by factional fighting in recent years. When the party was in power, infighting had created upheaval in its government, resulting in the replacement of the then chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh in September 2021, and a humiliating defeat in the state assembly election last year.
A former party leader said the Congress cadre was demoralized after the rout in 2022. “If the party wins the bypoll, it will liven up the leaders and supporters,” he said, pointing out that the main contest is between the Congress and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Congress, which is counting on the Chaudhary family’s goodwill and connect with the people, is targeting the AAP government for its failure to fulfil its pre-poll promises, including the appointment of a Dalit deputy chief minister, and the deterioration in law and order. The AAP, on its part, has made free power, jobs and other announcements the central theme of its campaign. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has led the attack on the Congress on corruption and vigilance cases against its leaders. He is also asking the electors for one year to serve them, stating that if his government fails to meet their expectations in one year, they can vote for whoever they want in the general elections next year.
Bajwa, however, dismissed Mann’s onslaught, asking if the state government had proved anything against any Congress leader. “They just want to defame one party. The CM needs to answer for the misdeeds of his ministers and MLAs. They came to power by telling lies, and people are now feeling short-changed,” he claimed. Vikramjit also scoffed at Mann’s request for one year, stating people gave them a clear mandate with 92 of the 117 assembly seats. “What is this one year he wants now?” he questioned.
