Jalandhar6 hours ago
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AAP, Congress, BJP and Akali Dal candidates in Jalandhar Lok Sabha elections.
The by-election to the Lok Sabha in Punjab’s Jalandhar has become very interesting. Although here the contest is between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, Akali Dal and BJP but looking at the candidates it seems that the contest is between Akali Dal and Congress. This is because Aam Aadmi Party candidate Sushil Rinku joined AAP from Congress.
Similarly BJP candidate Inder Iqbal Atwal has joined BJP from Akali Dal. AAP and BJP did not show faith in any of their leaders here. However, Congress has given ticket to Karamjit Kaur, wife of sitting MP Santokh Singh Choudhary from Jalandhar seat. On the other hand, Akali Dal has given ticket to Dr. Sukhwinder Sukhi, MLA from Banga.
The seat became vacant after the death of the MP.
Chaudhary Santokh Singh, Congress MP from Jalandhar seat, passed away some time ago. He was walking in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. During that time he had a heart attack. He was taken to the hospital but he passed away. After which Congress fielded his wife while giving ticket to his family only.
MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh suffered a heart attack while walking in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
2 reasons for giving tickets to defectors
1. AAP’s bet to defeat Congress
The Aam Aadmi Party did not give ticket to any of its leaders. Suddenly Sushil Rinku was included in the party. Who was defeated by your own candidate Sheetal Angural. Behind this is AAP’s political ploy to defeat Congress. In fact, through this, AAP has tried to unite the cadre of Sushil Rinku and Sheetal Angural in the urban areas. If the vote bank of both comes to AAP’s account, then AAP can get a big benefit from Jalandhar West assembly constituency itself. Due to Rinku’s sudden move to AAP, Congress does not have any veteran face in this area.
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal inducted Sushil Rinku into the party. The next day he was announced as the candidate.
2. BJP supports Atwal
Behind this bet of BJP, there is an attempt for political success in Punjab. BJP has vote bank in urban assembly constituencies of Jalandhar seat but lacks base in rural and towns. That’s why the bet has been played on Atwal. Inder Iqbal Atwal’s father Charanjit Atwal has contested from here. Chaudhary Santokh Singh definitely won from here in 2019, but Charanjit Atwal was not far behind him at number two. There was not much difference in the vote percentage of both. Although Atwal was the candidate of the Akali Dal at that time.
Inder Iqbal Atwal went to Delhi and joined BJP. Father Charanjit Atwal also left the Akali Dal after he got the ticket.
Considering the semi-finals, everyone’s reputation is at stake
The Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-election remains a prestige issue for all the parties. All political parties are considering this election as the semi-final of the general elections from next year to 2024. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party does not want to lose Jalandhar after losing the Sangrur bypoll. This may not only shock them in 2024 but will also assess the functioning of the government in the state. The Congress wants to get back Aadhaar after losing the government in the last election. While the BJP wants to project a strong presence, the Akali Dal wants to regain its dominance as a regional party.
Position of parties on Jalandhar seat
Disruption in Congress increased concern
This Congress seat was confirmed during Santokh Chowdhary’s tenure, but now after his death, winning this seat remains a challenge for the Congress as well. The draw back with the Congress is that its leaders are deserting. AAP and BJP are trying to crack down on their cadre.
PM Modi’s support to BJP
This time the Bharatiya Janata Party has entered the Lok Sabha by-elections on its own keeping Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name and his work on the lines of the assembly elections. This is the reason why BJP is praising the work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi everywhere. From cities to villages, vehicles carrying digital publicity regarding the achievements of the tax center have been fielded.
Digital van launched for promotion
By the way, Bharatiya Janata Party is encouraged even after getting the second position in Sangrur that maybe it can show something amazing in Jalandhar. But the irony with the BJP is that it does not have much of a base in the rural areas. BJP made the Akali leader its candidate by breaking the Akali leader only to help the vote bank in the rural areas.
Shiromani Akali Dal worried about saving cadre
The leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal are also getting demoralized due to the humiliating defeat in the assembly elections twice in a row. This is the reason why the process of disunity of leaders in Shiromani Akali Dal is not ending. Aam Aadmi Party and BJP are continuously breaking the Akali leaders and increasing their clan.
The current state of affairs within the Akali Dal is such that the top leaders are more concerned with protecting their cadre than winning the elections in Jalandhar. There is no doubt that the Akali Dal has its base in the rural areas of Jalandhar but in the city it is completely dependent on the Bahujan Samaj Party. The BJP has created a lot of dent in the city by breaking the Akali leaders.