Punjab bypoll: Setback for Congress as it fails to retain bastions
For Congress, which clinched seven out of the 13 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the defeats particularly in Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak will sting the most as both the seats were represented by Congress heavyweights state unit chief and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and former deputy CM and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, respectively.
The bypoll results came as a big setback for Punjab Congress as it failed to retain Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak seats, which were considered their strongholds. The sole bright spot for the Congress was its unexpected victory in Barnala, an AAP stronghold.
With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) making inroads into Congress bastions, the party strength in the assembly has shrunk to just 15 against a tally of 18 legislators after the 2022 state polls. With two of its MLAs — Sandeep Jakhar and Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary — suspended by ‘anti-party’ activities, the Congress’ effective strength in the house has come down to 13, its thinnest tally in the state’s electoral history.
For Congress, which clinched seven out of the 13 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the defeats particularly in Gidderbaha and Dera Baba Nanak will sting the most as both the seats were represented by Congress heavyweights state unit chief and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and former deputy CM and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, respectively.
The loss of Amrita Warring and Jatinder Kaur despite all the support can further highlight the internal rift in the state unit. The party also lost from Chabbewal, a segment it won in the 2022 state polls.
The results are also likely to upset the party’s internal dynamics. Already many leaders within the party have highlighted the dominance of Jat Sikhs with little to no representation of Hindu and Dalit leaders at the helm.
“With every election, Punjab is losing Dalit and Hindu vote banks. The results today are a shocker for us. AAP has started consolidating. There is a need to realign the party and bring some changes in PPCC leadership to rejuvenate the Congress cadre”, said a party leader, pleading anonymity.
AICC secretary and Punjab in-charge Alok Sharma said: “It’s a setback as we were expecting three seats. The party will take the feedback from candidates and cadre, analyse it and will take remedial measures”, he said.
