With four and five cornered contests in the offing in Punjab, much will depend on the choice of the candidates the parties will field. That appears to be the reason that these parties are weighing their options cautiously and carefully in finalising their candidates.
So far, the ruling party has announced nine candidates, while Bharatiya Janata Party has announced five. Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar, with quite a marginal presence, has announced four.
But the two mainstream parties, the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal have not announced any candidate so far.
Since the stakes are high for everyone, nobody seems to be prepared to take any chance with the candidates. The AAP has already fielded five sitting ministers and might field at least one more.
While it may suggest the unavailability of strong candidates, at the same time it also reveals how seriously the ruling party is taking these elections.
That is quite understandable, as the General Elections will be deemed as a referendum on the performance of the government, more so that of the Chief Minister.
The SAD-B led by Sukhbir Singh Badal is at its political nadir with just three seats in the assembly. This is a “do or die” battle for Badal. This is also going to be his first electoral battle without his father, the late Parkash Singh Badal, who passed away just over a year ago.
The junior Badal consciously chose to go it alone after laying some conditions for an alliance with the BJP, which it refused. The parliamentary results will have a serious bearing on both his (Badal’s) and his party’s future.
That seems to be the reason that the party is taking time to announce its candidates. Otherwise, the SAD-B has a record of announcing its candidates even before the announcement of the elections.
It is the first time that the party has been so late in announcing its candidates.
For the Congress, delay in announcing the candidates is a routine matter. That is probably because of the “problem of plenty” that the party always faces.
Despite having seen the defection of two sitting MPs, Preneet Kaur from Patiala and Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana to the BJP, the party continues to be a frontrunner and a strong contender. Again, everything will depend on the choice of the candidates.
The party is finding it difficult to find replacements for Preneet Kaur in Patiala and Ravneet Bittu in Ludhiana, although it has multiple options at both places.
In Patiala, it has roped in Dr Dharamveer Gandhi, a former AAP MP who had defeated Ms Preneet Kaur in 2014. He is considered to be one of the options for the Congress but is facing strong resistance from the traditional party leaders and cadres.
Former MLAs in the constituency have already voiced their reservations against his candidature in public. They want someone from “within” the party to be fielded from here.
Similarly, in Ludhiana, the party is finding it difficult to make a final choice after Bittu defected to the BJP and is contesting on the party’s ticket. Bittu has represented Ludhiana twice, since 2014.
Besides, he happens to be the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister, late Beant Singh, who was killed by militants in a suicide attack. That makes him a potentially very strong candidate.
For the Congress, there are limited options. It may either field Bharat Bhushan Ashu, a former minister and two-time MLA from Ludhiana West or Manish Tewari a two-time MP and a former Union Minister. Tewari represented Ludhiana between 2009 and 2014.
He didn’t contest in 2014 and successfully fought from Anandpur Sahib in 2019. He is a potential choice for the Congress in Ludhiana and can prove to be a formidable challenger to Bittu.
The Congress is faced with a possible rebellion in Jalandhar also, where it plans to field the former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Channi belongs to Chankaur Sahib which falls in the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency.
Although he is considered to be a very strong candidate in a constituency that is a Congress stronghold, Vikram Chaudhary, a Congress MLA from Philaur and the son of former Jalandhar MP Chaudhary Santokh who died during Bharat Jodo Yatra in January 2023, has shown full defiance against any such move.
There is a possibility of his revolting and leaving the party even. The way his father died while walking along with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Vikram Chaudhary believes his family has a natural right over the constituency. His father won from Jalandhar in 2014 and 2019.
The Congress also has a problem in Amritsar, where party veteran Om Prakash Soni, a six-time MLA and a former Deputy Chief Minister has made it clear that come what may, he will fight the parliamentary elections.
The party has a sitting MP Gurjett Aujla from here. It may not be an easy choice there either, as whom to choose and whom to leave will not be an easy option to decide.
The parties are likely to announce the candidates in the coming week. The situation will be clear only after the candidates are announced.
But that will not be without some fireworks as there are going to be a lot of heartburns and possible rebellions, particularly within the Congress, after the candidates are announced.
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