After its best run in the Lok Sabha polls where it got over 18.5 percentage vote share, the Bharatiya Janata Party is gearing for elections to four assembly seats in Punjab. Though the key contest is expected to be between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, the BJP hopes to gain seats as its former partner, Akali Dal, is not in the fray.
The bypolls are crucial for the three parties in the state as they want to claim that the momentum gained by them during the Lok Sabha polls was intact. While the BJP had not won any seat, the AAP and the Congress contesting separately had won three and seven seats, respectively. Two seats were won by the independents.
As the BJP and Akali Dal had fought separately, during the Lok Sabhs polls, they could not pose a challenge. But what came as a surprise for the political observers was that the BJP gained nine percent vote share to come at their number, in terms of vote share, even ahead of Akali Dal, once a formidable force in the state. The Akali Dal lost over 14 percent vote share to settle at nearly 13 percent.
For this round of bypolls for four seats, the BJP has fielded four former Akali Dal and Congress veterans, who command a following. For politically crucial Gidderbaha seat, the BJP has nominated former minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who served in both Akali and Congress governments. Manpreet is Akali Dal supremo, Sukhbir Badal’s cousin. They had fallen apart over a decade back. Gidderbaha has been Badal family stronghold and earlier represented five times by former CM Prakash Singh Badal. Manpreet’s contest from this seat come loaded with political significance. Manpreet had won the seat in 1995 in his debut polls.
The AAP has fielded former Akali Dal leader, Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, from the same seat. The Congress has nominated Amrita Warring, wife of Lok Sabha MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who was an MLA from the seat and vacated after getting elected to the lower house.
In Chabbewal, the AAP has fielded MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal’s son Ishaan. Raj Kumar was earlier with the Congress. The BJP gave ticket to Akali leader and former minister Sohan Singh Thandal from the seat.
From the Dera Baba Nanak seat, the Congress again decided it was better to go with the family of its local leader. It fielded its Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s wife Jatinder Kaur. Randhawa was former PPC chief and in-charge of Rajasthan election for the party. the BJP has fielded Ravi Karan Singh Kahlon, son of former Speaker and Akali Dal leader Nirmal Singh Kahlon.
From Barnala seat, BJP has given ticket to industrialist and former Congressman Kewal Singh Dhillon. Barnala is the only urban seat among the four seats going to polls. The seat had fallen vacant after AAP minister Gurmeet Singh Hayer was elected to Lok Sabha from Sangrur seat. AAP has fielded Harinder Singh Dhaliwal, considered a loyalist of Hayer.
The BJP has always been considered an urban party in the state. It is going to polls at a time when its state party chief Sunil Jhakhar had expressed desire to step down from the post owing to internal differences. By going alone during the Lok Sabha polls, the party had expanded its votes to the rural areas.
The current bypolls are a prestige battle for the ruling AAP and the Congress, the BJP’s performance is keenly watched.
The Akali Dal is not contesting the polls as its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has been excommunicated from the Sikh faith and the matter was still pending resolution. so, the party had decided to stay away. If BJP wins from any of these seats, it will be a bigger crisis for the party as it had been looking at its former NDA partner for revival.
As three of the seats were held by the Congress, it will be a challenge for it to retain those seats. For the Bhagwant Singh Mann government, the byepolls are a midterm test since he was elected to power in a historic mandate in 2022.