Why political parties in Punjab are struggling to find ‘winnable candidates’

With no major political alliance taking shape and the Lok Sabha polls all set to witness a multi-cornered contest in Punjab, almost all the political parties are having a tough time zeroing in on ‘winnable candidates’ in the border state.

The crisis is deeper for the ruling AAP, which doesn't have strong locally entrenched leaders like the Congress or the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), particularly outside Malwa region, and the BJP, which is going solo in the state for the first time in many years. In this scenario, both the AAP and the BJP have poached a few prominent faces of the Congress and the grand old party looks vulnerable.

Interestingly, though there is no dearth of ticket aspirants, there aren’t many prominent faces who can help build the perception or can help swing a section of votes in the state. The poaching of candidates by major political parties or the trend of fielding sitting MLAs in the Lok Sabha polls reflect this acute crunch of ‘winnable candidates’. Moreover, with no wave sweeping the border state, the political parties have no option but to look for big recognisable names in these elections.

Tough task for BJP

The BJP, which is going it alone for the first time in many years, faces a daunting task to field strong candidates on all 13 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which contested 10 seats, leaving the remaining 3 for the saffron party. The BJP this time has announced 6 of its 13 candidates, of which three are turncoats.

The party has fielded sitting MP Preneet Kaur, wife of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, from Patiala. Similarly, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who recently quit the Congress, from Ludhiana. The party also managed to woo sitting Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, who won the Lok Sabha bypoll on AAP ticket, and announced his candidature from the constituency.

Interestingly, the BJP has fielded former Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu from the prestigious Amritsar constituency. Famous singer Hans Raj Hans, who is the North West Delhi MP in the outgoing 17th Lok Sabha, has been fielded from Faridkot. Actor Sunny Deol has been dropped from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency and has been replaced by former BJP MLA Dinesh Singh “Babbu”.

On hunt for candidates, the BJP recently made a significant addition to its state unit with Punjab IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu joining the party after tendering her resignation. She also made her intentions clear to contest from Bathinda constituency which is currently represented by former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of former Deputy CM and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. Interestingly, Sidhu is the daughter-in-law of former Akali minister Sikander Singh Maluka. Her husband, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, who is a former general secretary of SAD, also joined the BJP.  

Challenge for AAP

The ruling AAP also seems to be struggling to find ‘winnable candidates’ and the choice of candidates in its first list is enough to suggest the same. The party has named five of its cabinet ministers in the first list of 8 candidates from Punjab. They are Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal from Amritsar, Laljit Singh Bhullar from Khadoor Sahib, Gurmeet Singh Khudia from Bathinda, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer from Sangrur and Dr Balbir Singh from Patiala.

Apart from these ministers, the AAP has also fielded Punjabi actor Karamjit Anmol from Faridkot. The party had announced Rinku’s candidature from Jalandhar, but he switched his loyalty to the BJP. Incidentally, Rinku was earlier with the Congress and had joined AAP just ahead of the bypolls in Jalandhar last year. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has now announced that the AAP will declare its candidates for Jalandhar and Ludhiana seats on April 16.

SAD’s first list out

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led by Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday announced its first list of seven candidates.

Like other political parties, the Akali Dal list comprises of former ministers and MLAs. The SAD has fielded senior party leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra from Anandpur Sahib and Daljit Singh Cheema from Gurdaspur. The party has also named former MLA NK Sharma from Patiala, former minister Anil Joshi from Amritsar, Bikramjit Singh Khalsa from Fatehgarh Sahib, Rajwinder Singh from Faridkot and Iqbal Singh Jhoonda from Sangrur seat.

Though the Akali Dal used to be the first political party to announce its candidates in the past, the party is treading cautiously this time with an aim to recover its lost base among Sikhs. The party has witnessed a major downfall in the aftermath of the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot under its regime in 2015.

Meanwhile, the BSP, which earlier had a tie-up with the SAD, is also going it alone in these elections. The party has already announced its candidates from Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Sangrur and Patiala constituencies.

Struggling Congress

The Congress hasn’t announced any of its candidate from Punjab as of now. The party has suffered major blow in the state as its sitting MPs Preneet Kaur and Ravneet Bittu not only joined the BJP but are also its candidates from Patiala and Ludhiana, respectively.

However, the grand old party has brought in former AAP MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi to its fold. He may be the Congress candidate from Patiala, though there are reports of dissent against him within the party. Known for his clean image, Gandhi has been articulating his views on crucial issues confronting the border state.

There are reports that the Congress may field former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat. However, resentment has already started brewing against the move. Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary has openly targeted Channi and also resigned from the post of party's chief whip to exert pressure on Congress not to nominate him.

The names of Congress MLAs Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Pargat Singh, former Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and former cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh are also doing the rounds for different Lok Sabha seats.