With the ruling Congress coming a cropper in all 14 segments of the district, migrant voters in the industrial hub of the state who had been affronted by then Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s ‘UP, Bihar de bhaiye’ remark, have ensured that no future dispensation takes them for granted.
Migrant workers constitute a considerable chunk of voters in Ludhiana East, Ludhiana South, Samrala, Sahnewal, Atam Nagar, Ludhiana Central and Ludhiana North constituencies, which house the district’s industries. Political experts say the “tactless anti-migrant” comment made by Channi at a rally with Priyanka Gandhi in Ropar, merely days before election, cost the Grand Old Party its loyal voters.
A representative of migrant workers from the country’s Hindi heartland, Radhey Sham, says, “The Congress could have easily garnered votes of the labourers who migrated here from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, since Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are quite popular there. However, Channi’s comments turned the tide against the party. I, for one, am glad that the Congress got a strong drubbing.”
Outgoing Ludhiana East MLA Sanjeev Talwar, who lost his seat to Daljit Singh Grewal (Bhola) of AAP, by a huge margin of 35,922 votes, says, “Channi’s remarks certainly dissuaded migrant voters from voting for the Congress. Moreover, with Channi being projected as the chief ministerial candidate, the caste factor also played an important role.”
{{/usCountry}}Outgoing Ludhiana East MLA Sanjeev Talwar, who lost his seat to Daljit Singh Grewal (Bhola) of AAP, by a huge margin of 35,922 votes, says, “Channi’s remarks certainly dissuaded migrant voters from voting for the Congress. Moreover, with Channi being projected as the chief ministerial candidate, the caste factor also played an important role.”
{{/usCountry}}Talwar, who was asking the electorate to vote for him on the basis of the work done by him to improve educational facilities in his constituency, said, “I worked really hard and spent a great deal on building educational institutions and roads. A Government College was built along with many other new schools in my constituency.”
Talwar, a three-time municipal councillor, won his first ever assembly elections in 2017 from Ludhiana East, defeating Bhola with a thin margin of 1,581 votes.
“I challenge any other candidate to do as much developmental work as I did over the last five years in the next 20 years,” said the disappointed leader.
Similarly, in Ludhiana South, where ample migrant workers reside, Congress candidate Ishwarjot Singh Cheema bagged the third spot, receiving 15,604 votes as AAP’s greenhorn leader, Rajinder Pal Kaur won by a margin of 26,138 votes.
A migrant labourer from the constituency, Bandhu Prashad, said, “There was no point voting for the Congress, as the party’s top leadership does not want us in Punjab. We work hard for Punjabis, and have been living here for a long time. However, little respect is accorded to us.”