CAPT LEADS CONG'S LANDSLIDE WIN IN PUNJAB




Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh  

Riding on a massive two-term anti-incumbency against the ruling SAD-BJP regime, a resurgent Congress under Capt Amarinder Singh won a landslide in Punjab, decimating the Aam Aadmi Party in the process and its dream of emerging as a centrist national alternative to the Congress.

In what is a silver lining for the Congress in an otherwise gloomy scenario, the party won a massive 77 of the 117 seats, a remarkable feat for a winner in the last several decades.

While the loss of SAD-BJP was a foregone conclusion given its unpopularity due to a record 10 continuous years in power, the loss of AAP has dashed it national ambitions. The Arvind Kejriwal led party was hoping to win Punjab and spread nationally ahead of the 2019 elections-a dream, now badly shattered.

"This is a mandate for stability and progress as well as good governance," Capt Amarinder said in his first media interaction after victory, listing education and health as two areas of immediate concern for his Government. He will be formally elected as CLP leader and Chief Minister in a meeting of the newly elected MLAs in Chandigarh on Sunday. Many observers in Punjab see this as a victory of the Captain and his aggressive style of campaigning, bolstered by advice from Prashant Kishor rather than to the grand old party itself.

“It is like the emergence of a new regional party under Capt Amarinder,” said an old timer.

For the 89-year-old poll veteran and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the dream of becoming the Chief Minister for sixth time was dashed. He, however, was humble in defeat, accepting the people's verdict and offering full cooperation to Amarinder Singh to work for the rights of Punjab. "We will discuss the reasons will threadbare at the core committee meeting of the party. I will also ask SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal to set up a committee to look into the reason behind party's failure in the polls,” the patron of the party said.

Both Congress and AAP had marked the ruling combine well and from the beginning blamed it for the entire woes of the state, be it drug menace, unemployment, shift of industries, demonetisation, personality cult around the Badal family, nepotism, promoting dynastic rule and what not.

To make the matters worse for the Akali Dal, most of the charges stuck as the party was unable to ward off the attack on it. AAP's Gurpreet Ghuggi too accepted defeat and offered the cadres that it will introspect on the reasons. But what stumped the pollsters was the margin of defeat. A party which was supposed to be a contender for power, came a distant second.

"People wanted experience and did not want to experiment," said a Congress leader.  He said AAP was flirting with danger in the border State with Sikh radicals and other extremists, championing its cause.  "The minority community (read Hindus) deserted the AAP in a big way and contributed to its defeat, the Congress leader added.

AAP insiders said it was a combination of factors. They pointed out that the Dera Sacha Sauda supported Akali Dal at the last moment and it helped them in the Malwa belt, affected AAP's chances. "These were the votes going to AAP, but went to SAD," an AAP leader said.

In addition, a bomb blast in Bhatinda just before the polling, was seen by many as the return of the dark days of terrorism. They wanted stability and with SAD ruled out, Congress was the only viable alternative.   (March 12, 2017)

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