The Congress is in a terrible dilemma in Punjab. While it wants to assume a central role in the opposition space against the Aam Aadmi Party government, at the same time it does not want to be seen to be siding with the Bharatiya Janata Party. In this dilemma, the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal are occupying the space that otherwise belongs to it, for the reason of being the principal opposition party.
The Congress confusion has been evident during the recent Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation actions in Punjab.
In one case, the ED raided the premises owned by a businessman believed to be close to one of the close aides of the Chief Minister. Visuals of cash thrown from an apartment during the raid went viral. The Congress took a guarded position. Since the ED is a Central government agency, the party does not want to be seen to be approving all its actions.
There is a reason for it. The Congress has consistently alleged that the BJP was using Central agencies like the ED, CBI and Income Tax department against its political opponents, particularly ahead of the elections. Even when there is a lot of anti-incumbency against the AAP government in Punjab and even after the cash flew from the apartment, the Congress remained reluctant to endorse the ED action clearly and categorically.
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The Congress dilemma was understandable. It obviously cannot take two divergent positions on one issue when it has been accusing the ED of intimidating the political opponents of the BJP. At the same time, the other opposition parties are alleging that there is rampant corruption prevailing in the state, which made the ED action look justified.
This was followed by a late evening raid on the Punjab Vigilance Bureau headquarters by the CBI following a complaint by an official of the Punjab government that he was being blackmailed to pay bribe on the basis of an anonymous complaint.
The Akali Dal, which is desperately trying to stage a comeback and the BJP, which is trying to set a foothold in the state on its own, grabbed the opportunity. While the Akali Dal supremo Sukhbir Badal was abroad, his brother-in-law and prominent Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia held the fort down. He has been, otherwise also, most critical of the AAP government. He launched a no holds barred attack on the AAP using visuals of the “flying cash” against the government.
Same was the case with the CBI raid. In fact, Majithia was the first to put the visuals of the raid on his social media handles.
The BJP, led by its state president Sunil Jakhar, a former Congressman, also went against the AAP government hammer and tongs in both the cases.
At one point of time. it seemed to be AAP against the BJP and Akali Dal, while the Congress was pushed to the margins. That is a serious challenge the Congress will have to navigate. The Congress indeed is faced with an awkward situation as it has consistently opposed the ED and CBI action. But in these two cases, the ED and CBI action was not against any political party but against a private individual, allegedly linked to a top official in the government, and second was against a vigilance bureau official accused of blackmail.
The Congress again took a guarded stand over the arrest of an AAP Minister Sanjeev Arora by the ED on the charges of alleged money laundering. Arora and the AAP have denied these charges, alleging political vendetta.
Like the Punjab Congress adopted an aggressive posture during the Delhi assembly elections and resisted all attempts of an alliance with the AAP, it will have to devise an independent policy towards the AAP in Punjab irrespective of how it is viewed outside. The AAP does not leave any chance to target the Congress. In the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the AAP only targets the Congress. This is because there is virtually no other opposition. The BJP has two members and the Akalis are left with one member.
Sooner the Congress adopts a clear position against the AAP, the better it will be. Otherwise, it risks ceding the opposition space to the Akali Dal and BJP, which still remain on the margins in Punjab. The Congress still remains the only credible opposition in the state and it must retain that position.
The party high command also must provide clarity on the issue to its state leadership. If the Congress could strongly oppose the AAP during the parliamentary elections despite both the parties being part of the INDIA bloc, it has no compulsion today since the two parties have already parted ways. Any ambiguity on part of the Congress in challenging and opposing the AAP just not to be seen on the same page with the BJP, is no reason for the party to risk its political space in Punjab at a crucial time when the state is headed by all-important assembly elections, 10 months from now.
Going by the parliamentary election results in Punjab, the Congress remains the number one party having won seven of the 13 seats and led from 37 assembly segments. The AAP won three parliamentary constituencies and led from 34 assembly segments.
With ambiguity, the Congress runs the risk of losing the space instead of gaining it over its parliamentary election performance.
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