After MC poll debacle, knives out against Chandigarh Congress chief Subhash Chawla

The voices of dissent and chorus for a change in Congress’ city leadership has burst on to the surface as the party finds itself relegated to the third spot in Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) elections.

In a city, once considered a Congress stronghold, the party has been outsmarted and out-campaigned by debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which grabbed most of the anti-incumbency votes against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress could secure only eight seats, while AAP won 14 and BJP retained 12 seats.

Attacking Congress’ Chandigarh state president Subhash Chawla, senior party leader Devinder Singh Babla said, “It was Congress which allowed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to stand up and get so many seats. This is the failure of the party’s city president. He couldn’t even get his own son elected.”

Babla himself didn’t fight the election, but his wife Harpreet Kaur contested from his seat and won by the highest victory margin in this year’s civic poll.

“Party president didn’t cooperate with candidates. While other parties were funding their candidates, the Congress was asking for money from candidates. Nobody from the party came to our ward to support us during the campaign, it was only because of our family’s hard work that we could win,” said Babla.

Putting the entire blame for the loss on Chawla, Babla, said, “It is the president who is responsible for the win and loss. He was deciding on tickets and managing the entire show. It is not for me to say, but for the party to decide whether they continue with him (Chawla) or not.”

Babla’s sentiments were echoed by party’s chief spokesperson HS Lucky, who lost by 11 votes from ward 2. “There was no support from the party to the candidates. We were on our own. High command and Pawan Banal should reconsider all these factors so that Congress can become strong again,” said Lucky.

Stating that bad decisions by the leadership cost Congress heavily, Manoj Lubana, president Chandigarh Youth Congress, said, “There was a massive flaw in ticket distribution. The stage was set, Congress was certain to return in the municipal corporation but internal conflict for the seat distribution and denying the deserving candidates a chance to contest the election has proved to be a nightmare for Congress.”

He further questioned, “What was the need to delay the distribution. Declaring the tickets two days before the last date of nomination only took us away from victory. No step was taken to talk to the candidates who were not given tickets so as to channelise their efforts for Congress’ victory.”

Demanding action against all those who deprived us of this victory, Lubana, added, “It is time the Chandigarh Congress unit changes for a better future.”

Meanwhile, a senior party leader, requesting anonymity, said, “While other parties were bringing big guns to support their candidates, Congress didn’t get anybody big except for Randeep Singh Surjewala. They could have brought Navjot Singh Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi. Congress didn’t even do outdoor advertising for its candidates.”

Chawla meets high command, accepts moral responsibility

Responding to criticism, Chawla, said, “I have made my position clear to the high command. I have explained the reasons for rge party’s performance. As the party president, I have taken the moral responsibility for the party falling short of the expectations.”

Talking to HT from Delhi, Chawla, said, “I am in Delhi today, and met the senior party leaders and shared all the details with them. I have left it to them to decide on my future in the party.”

On the party leaders gunning for him at public forums, Chawla, said, “I will advise party workers to air their opinions in the party meeting being called to discuss all these issues. We will analyse what factors lead to these results, and all their opinions and suggestions will be taken on board.”