Jalandhar: High-stakes battle for ballot today

If the high-decibel, hectic campaign in the run-up to the Lok Sabha byelection is any indication, it’s a battle for prestige for all parties — be it AAP, Congress, BJP or the Akali Dal. All of them have left nothing to chance to catch the attention of discerning voters to secure a win, considering it will lay the ground for the 2024 General Election. Tribune reporter Aparna Banerji finds out what this byelection means for candidates and their parties. 

After the loss in the Sangrur Lok Sabha byelection, the Jalandhar bypoll is a significant battle for AAP, which has itself stated that “the seat would give us more power in the state”. Despite being just over a year in power, the party is faced with challenges after the murders of Sidhu Moosewala, Sandeep Nangal Ambiyan and Timmy Chawla. Sushil Rinku, who was seen sharing the stage with Congress leaders days ago, switched to a party with a completely different value system. He dresses in a kurta-pyjama and jacket and supports a twirled moustache. Making peace with opponents within the new party, the firebrand leader’s poll campaign was marked with less aggressive demeanour, as compared to before.

It is the first major litmus test for the Congress after its loss in the 2022 Assembly elections. After the demise of Santokh Singh Chaudhary, his widow and party candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary has a huge responsibility to keep intact the Dalit bastion which has been retained by the Chaudhary family for decades. A two-time MP and three-time MLA, senior Chaudhary had a long political career marked with a self-made identity as a senior Dalit leader. His son Vikramjit won from Phillaur in the 2022 poll, expanding the family’s hold. The mother-son duo now has to shoulder the legacy he left. While her party colleagues fire pointed salvos, Karamjit Kaur, a former principal, refrains from badmouthing her political opponents — in much a style reminiscent of her husband.

The SAD-BSP candidate and Banga legislator Dr Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi has enjoyed a good image within the party and thus emerged as the unanimous choice of the alliance despite some nuanced Dalit leaders from the Akali Dal being in consideration for the high-stakes Lok Sabha byelection. An ENT doctor and two-time legislator, Sukhi has an onerous task of bringing the SAD back into the thick of things. The Akali Dal is faced with the task of asserting its erstwhile presence in the state —which suffered a huge setback in 2022 Assembly elections. A composed leader, Sukhi’s campaign is also sans the heightened fever pitch of the polls. He dresses in whites — most often donning a white kurta or shirt.

Having split from the SAD and in view of its 2024 and 2027 vision, the BJP wants to prove that it can independently woo the Punjab electorate on its own. Inder Iqbal Atwal served as the country’s youngest legislator in 2002 as SAD’s Koom Kala MLA. His activism as an SAD youth leader, his tenure as an MLA and his father Charanjit Singh Atwal’s goodwill endeared him to the BJP, which gave him the big responsiblity. Atwal’s campaign is assertive but non-confrontational. Despite joining amidst a controversy and being a newbie to the Doaba scenario, he has held his own. He dresses in a kurta-pyjama with a BJP stole often around his neck and his signature black turban. Also refraining from training guns at opponents, Atwal concentrates on talking about PM’s schemes.