Heading an evolving coalition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally reached at a consensus over the seat sharing formula with its allies — Punjab Lok Congress – headed by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) – led by Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, and also Lok Insaaf Party – led by Bains Brothers.
As per the seat sharing arrangement, the saffron party will have a lion’s share among the total 117 seats in Punjab, and will field its candidates on 60 to 62 seats, while Capt Amarinder-led PLC gets 38-40 seats and Dhindsa-led Akali faction gets 10-12 seats in its share.
Lok Insaaf Party, led by Simarjeet Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains — both MLAs and popularly known as Bains Brothers, is likely to be part the BJP-led alliance and may contest on two to five seats.
At the same time, the saffron party has also finalised its candidates for around three dozen seats, and the announcement is expected anytime now.
The names of the probable candidates have been finalised after extensive discussion at the state level, and the approval from the Central leadership is awaited before releasing he first list of candidates for the February 20 elections.
It has been learnt that the BJP will retain all the candidates from the seats it traditionally contests in Punjab. Besides, the party will also be announcing candidature of leaders from other political parties from the seats they have been contesting.
Former Cabinet Minister and Guru Har Sahai MLA Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi and sitting Qadian MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa, who gave up “hand” to hold the “lotus”, are likely to be fielded from Ferozepur and Batala, respectively, instead of their traditional seats.
The first list has been prepared after brainstorming over 4,000 applications, and discussing each and every
name.
The saffron party has all along been playing a second fiddle to its ally — the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — which severed the decades-old ties with BJP over the issue of Centre’s three agriculture acts. SAD has now forged an alliance with the BSP for ensuing elections.
BJP, on the other hand, has tied up with the splinter groups led by the stalwarts of Punjab politics — Capt Amarinder and Dhindsa. But this time, BJP would be the senior partner in the alliance having majority of seats in its share — for the first time in Punjab.
The farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s farm laws created an anti-BJP wave across the State, amidst all sections of the society. Its party leaders were not allowed to move out, with the farmers and their supporters disrupting BJP’s every public meeting or gathering. On several occasions, BJP leaders also had to face the brunt.
However, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted the agitating farmers’ demand to repeal the contentious farm laws, the announcement helped in pacifying the prevailing anger against the BJP.
In a game of perception, the BJP managed to woo big names from other parties and also prominent Sikh faces into the party — in the process sending across a message among the state electors that it was still popular. “We received a total of 4028 applications to apply for the ticket. The first list is all ready and will be announced soon,” a BJP leader told The Pioneer.
The maximum number of applications has been received from Doaba, Majha, and the urban areas in the Hindu-dominated belt of Punjab, while the least number of applications were received from Bathinda.
“We have received more applications from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, and Mohali. Since there are more Hindus in urban areas and BJP has a base among the urban populace, more applications were received from cities,” said the BJP leader.