The Majha belt of Punjab is gearing up for a stiff triangular contest on at least 50% seats, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) looking to make inroads and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) looking strong to regain lost ground at the expense of the Congress, which had a near clean sweep in the region — winning 22 out of 25 seats — in the 2017 assembly elections.
According to poll pundits, the SAD, which could secure just three seats with its then ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2017, is a strong contender on at least 15 seats this election. Meanwhile, the AAP, which could not garner much support and finished third on all but two seats in Majha in 2017, has also emerged a force to reckon with on at least 14 seats.
This has apparently put the ruling Congress on the back foot, as its four cabinet ministers, including deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, are seen struggling to retain their seats as the region goes to the polls along with rest of Punjab on Sunday.
‘AAP as alternative’
“No doubt, there is ground swelling in this region. The AAP has gained momentum in Majha. Last time, it neither gave any big fight to candidates of the main parties (Congress and SAD-BJP), nor was its vote share good enough,” said Prof Jagroop Singh Sekhon, former head of the political science department at Guru Nanak Dev University.
The seats where the AAP seems to have emerged strong are Ajnala, Attari, Jandiala Guru, Rajasansi, Amritsar North, Amritsar South, Bhoa, Gurdaspur, Dinanagar, Qadian, Batala, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran and Patti. It has happened even as the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has fielded many low-profile candidates and new faces.
{{/usCountry}}The seats where the AAP seems to have emerged strong are Ajnala, Attari, Jandiala Guru, Rajasansi, Amritsar North, Amritsar South, Bhoa, Gurdaspur, Dinanagar, Qadian, Batala, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran and Patti. It has happened even as the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has fielded many low-profile candidates and new faces.
{{/usCountry}}“In 2017, voters saw Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Congress as an alternative amid severe anti-incumbency wave against the SAD-BJP. Now, due to the Congress’ performance that has been much below their expectations, voters are seeing the AAP as the alternative,” said Prof Sekhon.
SAD regains momentum
Meanwhile, the SAD has regained momentum on Gurdaspur, Dera Baba Nanak, Fatehgarh Churian, Batala, Sri Hargobindpur, Ajnala, Attari, Baba Bakala, Amritsar South, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Patti and Khadoor Sahib seats. In 2017, it had won only two seats: Majitha and Batala. Similarly, its erstwhile ally BJP, which won from Sujanpur in 2017, seems to have regained its sway in its traditional stronghold Pathankot, with the saffron party’s state chief Ashwani Sharma in the fray.
The Panthic party is also contesting from Amritsar North and Amritsar East for the first time. It has got a fillip with former BJP minister Anil Joshi joining its ranks and contesting from the former seat, and the party’s big gun Bikram Singh Majithia posing a tough challenge to his bete noire and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu from the latter.
Worries for Congress
As far as the ruling Congress is concerned, it will have a tough time retaining all its seats, according to political observers in the region.
Four of the 20 seats where it faces a stiff challenge are represented by cabinet ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (Dera Baba Nanak), Aruna Chaudhry (Dinanagar), Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa (Fatehgarh Churian) and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria (Rajasansi).
Meanwhile, the party looks strong in Amritsar Central and Amritsar West, from where deputy chief minister OP Soni and cabinet minister Raj Kumar Verka are in the fray, respectively.