A persuasive media campaign, handing over of party reins to comparatively ‘younger’ Partap Singh Bajwa after relegating Capt Amarinder Singh to position of obscurity, and scathing attack on the ruling party on the deteriorating law and order situation in the State, failed to turn defeat into victory for the Congress party. It lost the panchayat polls to the ruling Akali-BJP combine.
When Bajwa was made the party commander, even the critics of the Congress party thought he would be able to break the jinx of defeat. But, the results declared by Tuesday evening showed that nothing has improved for the party as it suffered its fifth consecutive defeat, starting from the Vidhan Sabha elections.
Attribute it to the prevailing national level anti-Congress wave, or the ability of the Akalis to read the voters’ mind, or its election management skill, or whatever, the fact remains that the top leadership of the Congress under its new chief miserably failed to consolidates the party’s position in the State.
Not surprising, it is struggling to stand on its feet after a string of defeats, notwithstanding change in its organisational structure — the appointment of four vice-presidents for better area coordination.
After its defeat in the Assembly polls, Congress tried to take refuge in the plea that wrong allocation of seats led to its defeat. Following drubbing in the civic body elections, the party maintained that it was not made to bite the dust by the people but has lost due to “unethical practices”.
Notwithstanding the change in captains, the plea taken by the party after its defeat is the same. State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, while dismissing as “mischievous” the claim of landslide victory in Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections made by SAD-BJP Government, termed it a “murder of democracy” — what the then party chief Capt Amarinder had termed to the Akali-BJP’s claims of sweeping municipal polls.
“The much-touted victory of SAD-BJP in the four municipal corporations rest on the murder of democracy through abuse of State power and State Police,” Capt Amarinder had then stated.
In his statement, Bajwa on Tuesday said, “The people of Manna village, adjoining to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s native village, had felt the first taste of so-called victory of SAD-BJP alliance where the Punjab Police has booked 150 persons for rioting. The violence in Manna village was reaction to mass booth-capturing by a mob led by OSD to the deputy Chief Minister.”
PPCC president added that registration of criminal cases against residents of whole village by police was an attempt to “gag the voice of public. It is telling story of terror created by SAD-BJP Government before and after the elections”.
Notably, in the run up to the rural civic body polls, the party resorted to mudslinging and raising apprehensions of rigging and booth-capturing, apprehending a defeat, instead of doing much to woo the voters.
Though its senior leadership, including Central Ministers, was in the field for campaigning, it, however, failed to make a mark amongst the voters. Interestingly, another defeat for the party, and the first one for Bajwa is a victory in defeat for Capt Amarinder.
On the other hand, the SAD-BJP combine is riding high on the victory wave with a clean sweep in all the Zila Parishads and Panchayat Samitis.
Referring to the Congress’ way of politics as “cheap political ethics, negative propaganda”, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed that SAD-BJP’s win is “a victory of constructive politics based on a vision of peace and communal harmony and on service of the people for greater progress and development in the State. It is a referendum on our performance as Government”.
Thanking the people of Punjab for once again endorsing their mandate in favour of the alliance by giving a thumping verdict in its favour, Badal said that the Congress has faltered yet again in assessing the mood of the people who want a positive agenda for development and disapprove of unseemly confrontation among their leaders.
Deputy Chief Minister and SAD chief Sukhbir Badal termed the coalition’s massive win as a “death of the Congress as a political party in Punjab”, and a “knock-out in the very first round for the new PPCC president”.
“The outcome clearly indicates a complete wipe-out of the Congress party at the grass-root level. People of Punjab have strongly delivered a message that there is no place for negative tactics in Punjab. People want leaders, not cheap entertainers; sensationalism, constructive politics not destructive politicking,” said Sukhbir.
He added that it was sad to see Bajwa being called in “merely to lit the funeral pyre of his party in Punjab”.