The saffron brigade in Punjab has blamed the “planned misuse” of official machinery by the ruling Congress party for its defeat in the recently-concluded Gurdaspur parliamentary bye-election.
Notwithstanding, different sections of BJP leaders believed that the Centre’s move of demonetization and GST, fielding “inapt” Swaran Salaria, or Union Minister Vijay Sampla’s “failed” leadership are also strong contributory factors for losing Gurdaspur seat to the Congress. But, these are all murmurs struggling to turn into a string voice.
Congress state unit chief Sunil Jakhar defeated SAD-BJP combine candidate Swaran Salaria by nearly two lakh vote margin in October 11 bye-election, the result of which was declared on October 15.
Only a day before, BJP’s ally - the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), has held the controversy erupted involving its senior leader and former minister Sucha Singh langah, responsible for the combine’s defeat.
However, the party’s review meeting on Sunday, held under state unit chief Vijay Sampla’s leadership, alleged that the Congress party misused the entire government machinery, against which the party also filed no less than 68 complaints with the election panel.
The meeting was attended by all the core group members, all state office bearers and former ministers who were given the responsibility of all the nine assembly segments falling under Gurdaspur lok Sabha seat.
Mincing no words, Sampla said that the Congress party, from Day 1, was working with the feeling of “political vendetta”, and which was evidently reflected in elections. “Government system, either police or administrative, both were busy in serving the Congress...It seems that instead of Congress contesting the polls, the administration is fighting elections,” he said after the meeting.
“Be it is BDPO, or education officials, EOs of municipal committees or nagar panchayats, health department officials or tehsildar, naib tehsildar…be it DSP, SHO or chownki in-charge or lower-rung police personnel — all left no stone unturned to enable Congress candidate’s victory and to intimidate SAD-BJP leaders and workers in a very carefully planned way,” said Sampla.
Pointing that the party has filed as many as 68 complaints with the election commission, Sampla reminded that when the elections were announced, he had declared that the elections were between the Congress government and the SAD-BJP combine and not between the Congress party and the SAD-BJP combine. The same was proved, he added.
Sampla also cited couple of instances to prove his allegations of political vendetta including removing Municipal Council president Pramil Kalani on the directions of local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for campaigning against Jakhar, and forcing Rajupra Municipal Council (MC) president Praveen Chhabra to resign, among others.
It has been learnt that the leaders desist from raising the issue of Centre’s policies or Sampla’s leadership during the meeting. “Many believed that these factors have also affected the BJP, but are not ready to raise it fearing that they may be included in the high command’s bad books,” a senior BJP leader told The Pioneer, requesting anonymity.
The leader maintained that soon a group of senior party leaders — the anti-Sampla camp — would meet the party high command to remove Union Minister from the party’s top post in Punjab.