Punjab's own tale of Ayarams & Gayarams

Amitabh Shukla / Chandigarh

Neighbouring Haryana, which is considered the younger sibling of Punjab, may have heralded the “Aya ram Gaya ram” phenomenon in politics - changing parties at the drop of a hat - but poll bound Punjab is not far behind.

Unlike Haryana, where several parties have mushroomed and flourished over the years, Punjab practically has a two party system – Akali Dal and Congress for decades. This has prompted some Punjabis to proudly proclaim that the state is similar to USA and Britain where two parties are the norm. So party hopping in Punjab is limited to these parties and the seasonal birds have not much of an option beyond these two parties.

The entry of People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), led by estranged nephew of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in the fray as part of Sanjha Morcha has given an additional option to the habitual party hoppers and some have even found a place in the list of candidates of this party. BJP, however, did not find favour with the party hoppers and so far none of the candidates contesting the polls have been a late entry to the party fold. Moreover, no one goes from BJP to SAD and vice versa, limiting the options.

Three time MP from Hoshiarpur, Kamal Chaudhary remains one of those candidates who has practically been a fellow traveler in all the major political parties in the state. He has been in the Congress and the BJP and has the “rare distinction” of being the MP from both the parties. He was also in Sharad Pawar’s NCP for a while and then got back in the Congress. When he could not get a ticket for the Assembly polls, he has joined the PPP.

Jagdish Sahni, the sitting BJP MLA from Batala joined Congress, the same party from where he came from after the seat was given to the Akali Dal in the SAD-BJP seat sharing pact. He remains the only BJP leader of any significance who changed parties ahead of the January 30 assembly polls in the state.

Then there is Chiranji Lal Garg, who spent almost his entire life in the Akali Dal, was the Hindu face of the party for long and at the end of his political career, chose Congress. He remained in SAD for almost half a decade and was a minister in the earlier government headed by Badal but denial of party nomination forced him in the waiting hands of Congress. He, however, would not be contesting the polls this time.

Captain Amarinder Singh is the face of a resurgent Congress in this election and is optimistic of overthrowing the Akali-BJP government in the state. Few would remember his Akali Dal connection now. He had quit Congress after Operation Bluestar, army action at Golden Temple in 1984 when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. He was even an Akali minister in 1985 and a prize catch of the party then. Subsequently, he formed his own Akali Dal and after political wilderness of more than a decade, joined Congress in the late 1990s and became a chief minister in 2002. His younger brother Malvinder Singh has only followed him in this election while joining the SAD. But the reason of Malvinder quitting Congerss was different from Amarinder. It was the simplest excuse-denial of party ticket.

Old war horse Surjit Singh Barnala is a veteran Akali. He was a former Chief Minister, Union Minister and till recently the Tamil Nadu Governor. He now controls a small party called Akali Dal (Longowal), headed by his wife Surjit Kaur and his son Gaganjit Barnala is contesting as a candidate of Sanjha Morcha from Dhuri after he could not get entry in Congress.

There are many more in Punjab politics who have swung from one party to the other. Bir Devinder remained in Congress for almost 3 decades, then shifted his loyalties to Akali Dal and then joined PPP. He left the PPP a few months ago, only to join it on the eve of polls as the party’s candidate from Mohali.

Balwant Singh Ramoowalia was MP and a Union Minister from the Akali Dal. He parted ways with the party and formed his own Lok Bhalai Party and then before the polls, merged his party with SAD and is the party candidate from Mohali and will take on Bir Devinder from the segment adjoining Chandigarh. Then you have Jagbir Brar who travelled from SAD to PPP but in the 2012 polls became Congress candidate from Jalandhar Cantonment where his rival is former Indian hockey Captain Pargat Singh on an Akali ticket. Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon too defected to Congress from PPP after a stint in the Akali Dal. But he could not get party ticket and is again itching to change sides. (20.1.2012)

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