The Akali Dal stronghold of Bathinda would witness a battle of ballots between the Badals in 2014 lok Sabha polls.Congress on Tuesday formally announced its political alliance with the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) for Bathinda parliamentary seat where Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s estranged nephew Manpreet Badal would be fielded as Congress-PPP candidate against SAD-BJP’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal — Badal’s daughter-in-law.
Congress is in a win-win situation by fielding Manpreet as an alliance candidate from Bathinda — the Akalis’ citadel. On one hand, it has improved its chances of winning the seat by fielding a member of Badal clan. On the other, the Congress has saved itself from major embarrassment of loosing against the wife of Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal in case they don’t succeed.
The decision is expected to benefit the Congress which has been witnessing series of defeats since 2012 Assembly polls as the party was also not able to find the suitable candidate from the seat to match Harsimrat’s stature.
To settle political scores, State Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa proposed his predecessor and former chief minister Amarinder Singh’s name for Bathinda seat — an offer categorically turned down by him. Patiala royal scion Raninder Singh, Amarinder’s son, was made to bite the dust by Harsimrat during 2009 lok Sabha polls defeating him by 11,000 votes — a reason why his name was not floated this time again.
Under these circumstances, the decision to form an alliance was, apparently, more a matter of compulsion than choice as it may actually leave the Akalis struggling to gain ground.
After the Congress faced a resounding defeat in 2012 State Assembly polls, party’s national president Sonia Gandhi had, at that time, squarely blamed the PPP for spoiling the Congress’ chances of regaining power in the State.
Political experts had also concluded that the PPP candidates were responsible for the defeat of at least 15 Congress candidates by close margins. PPP, along with CPI, CPI (M) and SAD (longowal) as a part of Sanjha Morcha, has managed to pocket 5.17 per cent votes.
Despite facing drubbing, the Congress pocketed 40.11 per cent votes, against 34.75 per cent votes in favour of SAD, and 7.13 per cent for its ally, the BJP — combining to 41.88 per cent.
“The SAD-BJP alliance Government is ruling while being in minority as 58 per cent people voted against them….why should the majority be ruled by the minority…this alliance is needed not because Akalis are too strong to be tackled alone, but to combine all those votes that were divided among Congress, PPP, and others,” Manpreet told The Pioneer, who will be kick starting his election campaign from Wednesday in Bathinda constituency.
Floated some three years back, the PPP failed to secure even single seat in the series of elections held during these years. The party failed to bag even one seat in the 2012 Assembly polls.
Manpreet, after making formal announcement, also made it clear that the party would contest elections from Bathinda in alliance with Congress on its party symbol. “PPP wants to maintain its identity…” he said.
On the other hand, a senior Congress leader, on the basis of anonymity, maintained that the Congress has nothing to loose by fielding Manpreet from Bathinda. “Party can always claim that Manpreet’s charisma don’t work against Harsimrat’s image thereby absolving itself of any role in the failure to grab the Bathinda seat,” he added.
COMMON MANIFESTO, CAMPAIGNING COMMITTEE
Both Congress and PPP would also form their joint campaigning committees having leaders of both the parties. “We would come up with Punjab-specific manifesto of our two parties. A joint campaign committee will also be formed and we will begin from Bathinda to expose the corrupt and anti-people SAD-BJP Government,” said State Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa.
The two parties would have “a common minimum political and economic agenda for the development of Punjab, not what SAD-BJP has all along been projecting. It would tell how to eliminate mafia — the transport, sand, drug, cable business, etc…we would ensure the rule of law,” the PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal told The Pioneer.
Bajwa added that the party was all along been making efforts that other secular forces also join hands maintaining that talks were in maturing stages with the SAD (longowal) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), besides the Communist Party of India.
As of now, the Congress-PPP has left “a window open” for the CPI to be the part of newly former alliance. As apart of the “deal”, Manpreet has sought Faridkot seat for the CPI — the decision on which is expected to be taken within couple of days.
“CPI's central leadership has left it to State unit to take a final call on the issue….CPI (M) is not interested in joining hands,” said Manpreet.
The CPI’s Punjab unit has convened a meeting at Chandigarh on Wednesday where a decision on the issue is expected to be taken.
The two maintained that the Congress-PPP tie-up was not a stop-gap arrangement, but would last for long.
Maintaining that the decision to join hands with Congress took some time, Manpreet quoted a few lines of famous Urdu poet Muneer Niazi to stress that his joining hands with Congress may have come late in the day, but the pact was going to last long.
“It is rule of the mafia in Punjab...I am happy to join hands with a national, secular party to fight this mafia and corrupt forces in the State…Congress is a large organisation and has produced finest and tallest leaders,” Manpreet said.
Bajwa also made it clear that the tie-up had been approved by senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Shakeel Ahmad, and not to forget— Amarinder Singh.
“The alliance of the two parties also has the approval of former Chief Minister and Manpreet has met him, and he has also assured him that he would campaign for Manpreet in Bathinda,” said Bajwa.
SAD terms Cong-PPP alliance ‘two drowning opportunists’
Chandigarh: Describing the Congress-Manpreet Badal poll alliance as “an act of two drowning opportunists clutching at each other to save their lives but actually ensuring that neither will survive”, the SAD on Tuesday maintained that each will “sink with the dead weight of the other”.
Dismissing the alliance as a “political non-event”, SAD held that both signatories have already been reduced to minor sideshows on State's political landscape. “It is like adding zero to minus 10,” said SAD general secretary Harcharan Bains in an official statement.
Bains said: “Alliance between a rag-tag Congress and what is left of the PPP would suit SAD-BJP hands down, as each of the partners in this alliance is enough to destroy the other. Besides, people are certain to teach a lesson to such unprincipled politics.”
He said that by joining hands with the Congress, Manpreet has proved that all tall talk of value-based politics, honesty, simplicity and determination to change the system was just a sham to befool the people.