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Hot seat: Cong, AAP have task at hand as Sukhbir sits pretty in his bastion Jalalabad
Sukhbir’s aides are managing electioneering in the predominantly rural seat of Jalalabad that he has been nurturing as his stronghold since 2009
BATHINDA: The last-minute exit of the incumbent Congress MLA Raminder Awla from the electoral fray has made the contest in the high-stake Jalalabad constituency easier for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The former deputy chief minister is contesting for the fourth time from this segment, located close to the Pakistan border. “People of Jalalabad recognise my contribution to the area. I am so confident in their appreciation that I have not visited the area for canvassing,” Sukhbir said in a recent election meeting.
The SAD chief’s aides are managing electioneering in the predominantly rural seat that he has been nurturing as his stronghold since 2009.
Meanwhile, the Congress hopes to consolidate electoral support of Dalits and other communities after it announced Charanjit Singh Channi, a prominent scheduled caste face, as its CM face for Punjab polls.
Similarly, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Jagdeep Kamboj is banking on the party’s call to end dynastic politics.
In 2017, the seat witnessed a high-voltage contest when the AAP fielded its state unit chief and now party’s CM face Bhagwant Mann, and the Congress its Lok Sabha MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Bittu against Sukhbir.
Though Sukhbir won the polls, his victory margin nosedived since his maiden contest from the seat in 2009 when he won by a margin of over 80,000 votes. In the 2017 election, his margin of victory was reduced to 18,500 votes.
In the past 10 years, the segment has seen two by-elections. After winning the Lok Sabha election in 2019, Sukhbir vacated the Jalalabad segment and in the bypoll for Jalalabad in 2019, the SAD fielded Raj Singh Dibbipura but he lost by over 16,000 votes to Congress’ Raminder Singh Awla.
A greenhorn, Awla hogged limelight after he breached the Akali bastion. But a millionaire industrialist has not been fielded this time. Ahead of the assembly polls, Awla started showing interest in the adjoining seat of Guru Har Sahai in his home district Ferozepur. He had even started informal campaigning in Guru Har Sahai hinting that he might not contest against Sukhbir.
Now, the Congress has pitted two-time Ferozepur Lok Sabha MP Mohan Singh Phallian Wala whereas the AAP has fielded Jagdeep Singh Kamboj. Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) Puran Chand is a novice candidate.
Rai Sikh votes a deciding factor
In Jalalabad, social composition plays an important role. The Hindu-dominating constituency has Rai Sikh, Kamboj, Arora, Mahajan and Sikhs as prominent communities. But the Rai Sikh community, a Scheduled Caste, comprises more than 35% voters and plays a crucial role. The community is known for a polling rate of up to 80-90%. They dominate the rural belt whereas Hindu communities have a presence in the urban belt.
Both Cong, AAP nominees are turncoats
Congress’ Phallian Wala was elected as Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP in 1992 and 1996. Later, he joined the AAP before shifting to the Congress. “I had applied for the Congress ticket from Ferozepur Rural seat but the party asked me to contest from Jalalabad. This is my home turf and we are working collectively to retain the seat,” said Phallian Wala, a Rai Sikh leader.
Once national secretary of the Indian Youth Congress, Kamboj quit the party after he was denied a ticket to contest from Jalalabad in 2019 bypoll. “People want a change and I am confident as people have reposed faith in the AAP,” he said at Murak village.
Sukhbir woos Rai Sikhs
To consolidate his position, Sukhbir inducted veteran Congress leader from the Kamboj community, Hans Raj Josan, who has won from Jalalabad twice, into the SAD. To woo the Rai Sikh community, Sukhbir has announced to field a Rai Sikh candidate from Ferozepur parliamentary seat after winning from Jalalabad.
