Achi news desk-
Dr Gandhi’s recruitment, although opposed by some local leaders, is seen as a shot in the arm, but the Congress also has several other popular faces – Charanjit Chani, Raja Waring, Rana Gurjit and Sohpal Khira, Apart from Partap Singh Bajwa and Manish Tewari – to make him a formidable political force in the country.
On the other side, there is state BJP chief Sunil Jakkar, who quit the Congress in a huff when he was not appointed chief minister after Amarinder Singh – who is also from the BJP decorated party. Singh’s daughter Jai Inder Kaur is the president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in the state. And it is clear that the BJP is hoping to poach more leaders from the Congress and the AAP.
Jakkar’s team is packed with veteran Congress leaders, most notably Pata Jung Bajwa (brother of Partap Singh Bajwa, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly), Harjot Kamal, Arvind Khanna and Kawal Dahlon. The BJP core committee also has two veteran Congress hands in Manpreet Badal and Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi. Rabbi Singh Bittu also joined the BJP earlier this year, making the new BJP look like the old Congress.
The Congress won 8 of the 13 seats in 2019, and won 40% of the votes. The BJP then got four seats in its alliance with SAD. While SAD registered 27.4 per cent of the votes, the BJP registered 9.6 per cent. This time, SAD is contesting alone, fearing the sentiments of agitating farmers who are refusing to allow BJP leaders to even campaign in several parts of Malwa.
Will the BJP be able to match the score of the ‘Old Congress’? Or will their loss be the SAD’s gain?
