The biggest absence that is being felt in the ongoing General Elections in Punjab is that of the former Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, the scion of the Patiala royal family. It is not just his current party, the Bharatiya Janata Party that is missing his presence, even his previous party is also feeling his absence although it is three years now since he resigned from the party.
The vacuum left by Amarinder in the Congress is yet to be filled, a fact that most of the Congress leaders admit in private.
For the BJP, his presence would have been of immense help when it is battling it out so hard in Punjab in the face of protests and disruptions by some farmers’ groups. If Amarinder were in action, the farmers may have thought twice about opposing the BJP, since he (Amarinder) has always been known to be a pro-farmer leader.
The two-time former Chief Minister could not attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in support of his wife Preneet Kaur held in Patiala on Thursday. Amarinder is suffering from a severe spinal problem. Although he underwent spinal surgery in the United Kingdom about two years ago, he did not recover completely, restricting most of his movement.
It is not just his wife Preneet Kaur, who is trying her luck sixth time from Patiala (this time on a BJP ticket) missing his presence, the Bharatiya Janata Party is also feeling his absence badly at a time when the party has been looking forward to building a strong base in Punjab.
The party is fighting the election of its own in the state after a gap of about three decades after its long-time alliance partner, the Shiromani Akali Dal left the alliance in 2020 owing to the farmers’ protests against three central agricultural laws. Although the Modi government withdrew the three laws, the two parties have still not been able to reach a rapprochement.
Amarinder started his political journey immediately after resigning from the army in 1966. He had originally resigned from the army in 1965 after his father Maharaja Yadvinder Singh was appointed as an ambassador to Italy. However, after the war broke out with Pakistan, he rejoined the army and participated in the war as ADC to Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, who was the GOC-in-C Western Command at that time. The entire action takes place in the Western theatre. Once the war was over, he left the army.
For the first time, he actively participated in electoral politics, though indirectly, in 1967 when his mother Rajmata Mohinder Kaur fought the elections from the Patiala parliamentary constituency on a Congress ticket. She won.
Since 1967 Amarinder has participated directly or indirectly in every election, whether the General Election or the assembly election. It is after 57 years that he is out of action due to ill health.
With about six decades of active and eventful political experience, there is no other leader in Punjab right now, who can match Amarinder’s stature. Besides, he is known for taking unambiguous positions irrespective of his party affiliation and the consequences it may have.
Amarinder is known to be a pro-farmer leader who once put at stake his Chief Ministership in 2004 when he enacted a special law to prevent the construction of the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal. He was then glorified as the saviour of Punjab waters.
When the Modi government introduced three central agricultural laws, he was the first to oppose these. The year-long successful farmers’ protest in the Delhi outskirts owes so much to him as it was his government who supported and facilitated the protests and helped the farmers reach Delhi.
In 1984, when the government of India carried out Operation Bluestar, sending the army to the Golden Temple, Amarinder resigned from the Congress and the parliament. He was only 42 at that time and had put his political career at stake. And it was not an easy thing to defy a leader like Ms Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of the country. Although many Congress leaders had committed to resign if the army entered the Golden Temple, everyone else backed out.
In 2019 when the Indian army carried out surgical strikes against terrorists in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, Amarinder as a Congress Chief Minister welcomed the strikes and supported the action, although his party took a different stand.
And when the BJP government introduced the ‘Agnipath’ scheme of recruitment in defence services, he despite being in the BJP, opposed it.
When the BJP is faced with strong farmers’ protests who are disrupting the party's campaign everywhere, Amarinder’s presence would have made a significant difference.
He enjoys the credibility of being the man of his word, besides being seen as uncompromising when it comes to the national interest, farmers’ interest, Punjab’s or panthic interest and he has proved it in every case on different occasions.
This rare quality and combination, no other leader in Punjab, can ever dream of. Given his age, he is 82 years old, in any case, this in all likelihood would have been his last election to participate actively in. At least he would have left his mark by helping his party, the BJP.
Follow us
