Punjab Congress leaders and workers had a long pending grievance with the party high command about its alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh during the parliamentary elections. However, with the Congress leadership at the national level having taken a clear position against the AAP, the Punjab leaders are feeling relieved and vindicated.
When the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi equated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both were fond of making false promises, the Punjab Congress leaders and cadres were the happiest ones.
In fact, ahead of the parliamentary elections, there was a proposal for an AAP-Congress alliance in Punjab also, which was strongly resisted by the Congress leaders. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had also opposed the alliance that was being planned and discussed at the Delhi level.
As the electioneering in Delhi is at its peak, the Congress and the AAP leaders from Punjab have been camping there. Although the BJP’s stakes in Delhi are much higher than the Congress, not many BJP leaders have gone there to campaign for the party from Punjab.
The Punjab Congress leaders have been “cautioning” people of Delhi against the “fake promises” of the AAP there. About a week ago, several Punjab Congress leaders including the PCC president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and the Congress Legislative Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa addressed a press conference at Vijay Chowk in Delhi.
The press conference was specifically against the Rs 2100 scheme announced by the AAP for women in Delhi. The AAP had promised Rs 1000 for every woman in Punjab also before the elections. Its phenomenal victory was mainly attributed to this scheme. Even after about three years of being in power, the AAP government in Punjab has not been able to provide Rs 1000 to women due to severe financial constraints.
However, the AAP government has been providing up to 300 units of free power every month to all the consumers, which is serving it in good stead in the state. Party’s relatively better performance in the municipal elections was mainly attributed to “free power”. 300 units of free power are provided to every household irrespective of its economic or financial standing. However, in case the consumption goes beyond 300 units a month, the entire tariff is charged.
Unlike the BJP or the Akalis, the Congress leadership and the cadres in Punjab are more vocal against the AAP government. This is because the AAP government jailed quite a few Congress leaders for corruption charges. Besides, the animosity has percolated to the grassroots level which became manifest in the panchayat and municipal elections also.
The Punjab Congress leaders are campaigning in Delhi with a sense of “vengeance” against the AAP. Besides, the Congress continues to remain the principal opposition party in Punjab and the fight has now been reduced mostly between these two parties as the Akali Dal is at its nadir and the BJP is restricted mainly to the urban areas only.
The Congress leaders from Punjab see hope in Delhi. Given the fact that the AAP government is facing strong anti-incumbency after being in power for eleven years, the Congress is “smelling” the party’s defeat there. The Congress in Punjab believes that in case the AAP loses Delhi elections, it will have a demoralising impact on its cadres in Punjab, although the assembly elections in the state are still two years away.
Not only are the Congress leaders, but the AAP rank and file, led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann himself has also been camping and campaigning in Delhi. Chief Minister’s wife Dr Gurpreet Kaur has also been campaigning there in support of the AAP.
The Punjab AAP leadership has an additional reason to ensure that the party wins Delhi. There is a strong apprehension that in case the party is not able to retain power in the national capital, most of its senior leaders will start looking towards Punjab and there will be greater interference in running the government in the border state. There is already a team of officials deputed to Punjab to oversee the things here.
With the ‘Punjab battle’ between the AAP and the Congress having moved to Delhi, the results are being keenly and curiously awaited in the state. For the time being, it is over to Delhi.
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