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Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, March 26
The BJP has launched its campaign in the parliamentary constituency by regularly holding workers’ meetings even as its alliance partner, the SAD, is yet to devise ways and means to strengthen the three Assembly seats considered to be its “extremely weak pockets”.
The parliamentary seat, which is contested by the BJP, has a total of nine Assembly segments, out of which four — Pathankot, Sujanpur, Dinanagar and Bhoa — are with the BJP. The Assembly segments assigned to the Akalis are Fatehgarh Churian, Batala, Gurdaspur, Qadian and Dera Baba Nanak, the last three being earmarked as “fragile seats”.
State BJP president Shwait Malik is busy holding parleys with leaders and booth-level workers. One such meeting, held at Pathankot on Sunday, was attended by Kavita Khanna, Narendra Parmar, Master Mohan Lal, Ashwani Sharma and Dinesh Babbu, all five being ticket aspirants.
Insiders claim that SAD may play a spoilsport to the BJP candidate as it is yet to get its act together in its own seats. “This time whatever the BJP will be gaining in its four segments, the Akalis will be neutralising it in their segments,” said a senior SAD leader.
In Dera Baba Nanak, where senior leader Sucha Singh Langah remained quite strong during the 10-year Akali rule, times have changed. Langah has been marginalised to the extent where he is no longer seen in public. Moreover, Cabinet minister and sitting MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has emerged as one of the most powerful Congress leaders in the Majha region, particularly after the Kartarpur corridor initiative and the sleaze video featuring Langah. In the bypoll, Randhawa notched up a lead of a massive 44,000 votes for Sunil Jakhar. “Nothing has changed for the Akalis. On the contrary, Randhawa is sure to extend his stranglehold,” said a minister.
In Qadian, SAD, led by Sewa Singh Sekhwan, used to put up at least a semblance of fight. However, with Sekhwan forming the SAD (Taksali) after breaking away from his parent party, the Akalis are yet to identify a leader around whom it can rally its workers.
In Gurdaspur, things do not look all that rosy for the SAD, particularly after former MLA Gurbachan Singh Babbehali lost the 2017 Assembly polls by 28,000 votes. In the byelection held a few months after his defeat the Congress put a question mark on Babbehali’s political career by notching up a lead of nearly 29,000 votes.
Relatively speaking, the Akalis find themselves on a sound footing in Fatehgarh Churian where a party revamp means that youth leader Ravi Karan Kahlon has emerged out of the shadow of his father, former Speaker NS Kahlon. Of late, he has been organising meetings where he urges his cadres to vote for the BJP.
In Batala, the feud between Cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and former MLA Ashwani Sekhri may give an edge to SAD.
Shwait Malik mobilises party cadre
The parliamentary seat, which is contested by the BJP, has a total of nine Assembly segments, out of which four — Pathankot, Sujanpur, Dinanagar and Bhoa — are with the BJP. State BJP president Shwait Malik is busy holding parleys with leaders and booth-level workers.