Corruption and liquor ban issues have helped many politicians to come to power in India in the past decade. But, in the three-cornered electoral contest in Punjab, the D-factor, or simply put, “rampant drug abuse”, is the key issue on which the campaign of the two rival claimants to power — the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is being run. 

The drug menace in Punjab is perhaps the biggest single issue in the February 4 Assembly polls with all political parties acknowledging drug addiction as a major problem in the State and also promising in their election manifestos to put an end to this problem.

Even as politicians differ on the extent of drug abuse in Punjab, the drug issue has given enough ammunition to the Opposition parties — the Congress and the AAP — to target the SAD-BJP combine for its failure to check the inflow of drugs in the State.

Ever since the name of Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia cropped up in the drug trade, he, along with the SAD-BJP combine, had to face the brunt of allegations of letting drugs mafia flourish in Punjab in the last ten years. Both the AAP and the Congress have been targeting him like never before for his alleged involvement in drug trade even though he is not under the scanner of even a single investigating agency so far.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been raising the drug problem whenever he visits Punjab and it has been almost five years when he first raised it to target the ruling alliance in the State. In his campaign in 2017 elections too, he blamed the ruling Akalis for failing to act against the drug problem, and went onto say, “Yeh election, Punjab mein drugs ko khatam karne ka election hai.”

Making “drug abuse” a key poll issue, the AAP went a step ahead and released an audio message of its convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is speaking fluent Punjabi, to promise the Punjabis to put an end to drug trade besides warning Majithia that he will be put behind bars by April 15, if the AAP forms Government in the State.

last year, movie Udta Punjab also courted much controversy thanks to its subject — the menace of drug addiction in Punjab and the objection of the State Government of being portrayed negatively.

Though the drug abuse remains a key issue dominating the Punjab political discourse, the exact numbers of citizens consuming drugs has remained mired in controversy.

“The drug abuse is a major problem in Punjab and thus, has become a key election issue. There is unemployment and youth are getting addicted to drugs…Further, to buy drugs, youth are indulging in criminal activities… Basically, all this is a chain reaction… And, youth of Punjab is trapped in this menace,” Gurpartap Singh Mann, spokesperson and secretary, Punjab Congress, told The Pioneer.

The Congress leader said drug-peddler Jagdish Singh Bhola had accused Majithia of being involved in drug trafficking racket, yet the Akalis did not take any action against him. The Congress has vowed to end the drug problem in Punjab, when it comes to power, he added.

Bikram Singh Majithia, who is also Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s brother-in-law, has been a long-time target of the AAP on the drug issue. Majithia has also filed a defamation case against Kejriwal over his controversial remarks.

AAP’s candidate Himmat Singh Shergill, who is contesting from the high-profile Majitha constituency against SAD heavyweight Bikram Singh Majithia, often mentions the latter as a drug lord in his speeches. Shergill, a prominent lawyer, said Majithia is involved in a multi-crore drug trafficking racket and should be punished for ruining the lives of Punjab’s youth. The AAP has vowed to eliminate the drug menace in Punjab besides putting Majithia behind bars after winning the Assembly election, he said.

The ruling SAD, however, continue to refute opposition’s claims on drug issue.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, SAD spokesman and advisor to Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said, “If the magnitude of drug problem was as high as claimed by the Opposition… everyone from media to WHO would have been camping here to cover this issue. This is just a hype created by them.”

“It has been said that 70 per cent people in Punjab are drug addicts… This is absolutely false,” he added.

Both the Congress and the AAP, in their election manifestoes, have promised to establish more de-addiction centres, strict law to act against drug dealers among other initiatives to deal with the problem of drug abuse in the State.

Considering the widespread addiction to drugs and alcohol as well as their blatant use to lure voters during election time, the Election Commission has also constituted surveillance teams, flying squads to keep a check on their use, ahead of the assembly polls, scheduled for February 4.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that election in Punjab has seen drug abuse as a major issue.

Jagrup Singh Sekhon, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar said, “Drug addiction was a big issue in 2012 assembly as well as 2014 lok Sabha elections in Punjab. After 2012, the ruling SAD also took some initiatives to mitigate the problem. However, it is being hotly debated during the election campaigning this time also.”