In Chandigarh, Cong-AAP poised to give tough fight to BJP in Lok Sabha polls

Rivals in past two elections, the INDIA bloc constituents have united in Chandigarh to reclaim the seat from BJP that is eyeing a third straight win

After triangular contests in the last two Lok Sabha elections, Chandigarh is set to witness a two-cornered contest this time, with the Congress and AAP teaming up to trounce the BJP that is looking to secure a third straight win.

As part of their seat-sharing pact in Chandigarh, while the mayor’s chair went to the AAP, Congress bagged the MP seat. (HT)

The coming together of the AAP and the Congress, though, was a marriage dictated by political expediency and convenience, even at the cost of minor compromises. Forged ahead of the Chandigarh mayoral polls in January, the alliance was initially brought about due to the two parties’ mutual need, attaining majority in the BJP-led municipal corporation, in the crucial general election year.

The formula worked, and the alliance went on to wrest the Chandigarh mayoral polls from BJP’s grasp with their maiden cooperation, although after a hard-fought legal battle that reached the Supreme Court.

Not long after, the two key constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc then also announced to contest the Lok Sabha elections together from Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Goa and Gujarat, while not stitching up an alliance in Punjab, where they are arch-rivals.

As part of their seat-sharing pact in Chandigarh, while the mayor’s chair went to the AAP, Congress bagged the MP seat.

Four-time MP and former Union minister Pawan Bansal, Chandigarh Congress president Harmohinder Singh Lucky and Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari are the front-runners for the ticket.

On their plan ahead for the Lok Sabha battle, Chandigarh AAP in-charge Dr SS Ahluwalia said a campaigning committee will be constituted, comprising leaders from both parties: “A strategy will be chalked out for aggressive campaigning. Our main motive is to defeat the BJP.”

On dissonance among some AAP workers regarding the alliance, he said, “All AAP workers will campaign for the Congress candidate wholeheartedly and we will resolve all issues of the workers.”

Similarly, Bansal said, “Soon, coordination and campaigning committees will be constituted, with leaders of both parties. Before public meetings, meetings of these committees will be held back to back to finalise the poll strategy.”

Stating that alliances were nothing unusual, Ashutosh Kumar, a professor at department of political science, Panjab University, said, “Coalition is always the second choice for any party. It happens and lasts till the alliance benefits both parties in the sense that both parties are able to transfer their votes to other party and help in increasing the number of seats for both allies. The alliance is pragmatic but not completely opportunistic, as ideologically both parties are compatible. It also shows how every state is ‘a mini democracy’, having political dynamics of its own.”

As for the pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the AAP, he said, in Delhi, it helps both parties, particularly the Congress. “In Haryana, it is the other way around, as the Congress is in direct fight with the BJP. In other states, the alliance helps the AAP mark its footprints in other states, just like the BJP spread out in states like Karnataka and Odisha. In Punjab, the alliance did not materialise as both the Congress and the AAP are the top two contenders in the election,” he explained.

Chandigarh’s electoral history so far

In the 14 Lok Sabha elections conducted in Chandigarh since 1967, Congress has clinched the seat on seven occasions, while BJP has won it four times. Janta Party and Janata Dal have also been victorious once each. Even the Bharatiya Jana Sangh triumphed in the constituency’s inaugural elections in 1967.

AAP made its debut in Chandigarh in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, where its candidate Gul Panag was placed third. The AAP candidate ate into Congress candidate Pawan Bansal’s traditional vote bank in the rehabilitated colonies and slums, grabbing 1.08 lakh votes (23.97%) compared to Bansal’s 1.21 lakh (26.84%). BJP’s Kirron Kher, who won the elections, received 1.91 lakh votes (42.20%).

In 2019, Kher won again with 2.31 lakh votes (50%), while Bansal received 1.8 lakh votes (40.4%) and AAP’s vote share was relegated to just 3.82%, with its candidate Harmohan Dhawan polling 13,781 votes.

Two years later, in the 2021 MC elections, AAP re-emerged with aplomb, winning 14 of the 35 seats. BJP was lowered to the second position with 12 seats, Congress won eight and the Shiromani Akali Dal one.

After failing to secure the mayor’s chair in 2022 and 2023, this year, AAP snatched the seat from the BJP that had held it for eight straight years.