The battle of Patiala is turning out to be a fight for prestige. The Patiala Royals are all set to wage a war, this time more for salvaging their lost glory; and the rivals, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), too are putting on a tough front for regaining their hold on the State.
For both the Congress and the Akalis, the electoral combat is of immense significance. led by the royal family, the Congress needs to win the seat to convert its recent defeat into victory and to catapult former Union Minister Preneet Kaur back to power after she lost the parliamentary polls from Patiala.
The Akalis, on the other hand, are all set to fight it out to show they still are dominant in the State. In a strategic move, it has, for the first time, fielded a Hindu candidate, Bhagwan Dass Juneja, from this seat having 60 per cent Hindu voters. The party’s Sikh candidates from the seat have repeatedly lost from Patiala (urban) assembly segment.
For Aam Aadmi Party, that stunned the Patiala Royal family in the 2014 general elections by voting out four-time Patiala MP, the electoral conflict is vital, as the results are likely to have a bearing on its future, nation-wide and also in the state. The party, after securing four lok Sabha seats in Punjab, is concentrating on the state while aiming to form the next government here.
Known as Congress’ fortress, Patiala has elected Capt Amarinder Singh as its MlA and his wife Preneet Kaur as its MP since decades. Winning the seat would be a role-reversal for the Royal Couple with Capt Amarinder in the Parliament and his wife in state politics.
Out of 14 elections since 1957, the Congress has won eight times with Capt Amarinder winning 2012 assembly polls from Patiala for the third consecutive time. SAD could manage to bag the seat only for three times before Capt Amarinder chose to contest Assembly polls from here.
Notwithstanding, the Congress is not treating the bypoll as a cakewalk, especially after Preneet’s recent defeat by the new-comer AAP candidate Dr Dharamvira Gandhi — a city-based surgeon.
All geared and leaving no stone unturned, the Congress has decided to put 29 MlAs on the job in the segment, out of total 44, with majority of them being Capt Amarinder’s loyalists, including Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and former finance minister lal Singh, and party’s young guns.
Despite AAP emerging victorious in lok Sabha polls, the Congress is still the most popular party as far as Patiala urban segment is concerned. A look at the previous two polls, the Congress bagged the seat with a margin of 42,318 votes in 2012 assembly polls, and by 7564 votes in 2014 polls.
While SAD finished third during 2014 elections, it was on second spot during 2012 assembly elections.
Making its move carefully, the ruling SAD has decided to field a Hindu candidate, who is also a known face in the city. Not having much to talk about areas development, the SAD is banking on Juneja’s image, who is a renowned social worker.
The party, in its campaigning is highlighting Juneja’s contribution to the city, while criticizing former Chief Minister and former sitting MlA Capt Amarinder’s “inaccessibility” and Maharaja style of functioning.
Playing a Hindu factor, SAD opted for Juneja considering his amiable relationship with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leadership that Akali Dal wanted to take advantage of to check Preneet’s influence.
Before this, it was in 1997 that a major party, Congress, had fielded a Hindu candidate Brahm Mohindra from Patiala urban constituency.
SAD, to deal with Congress’ popularity and AAP’s entry, has chalked out a strategy wherein it has deployed one MlA each for 30 wards under the Patiala (urban) assembly segment. As a part of it, Juneja’s candidature was the first step.
As AAP managed to make inroads in Punjab after fielding known and prominent faces from the State at a time when it drew a blank in the rest of the country during 2014 polls, it has fielded a former SAD leader Harjeet Singh Adaltiwala.
Vice-chairman of Punjab backward commission, Adaltiwala had joined AAP in April this year, and is banking on AAP and Dr Gandhi’s fame.