History will unfold in Amritsar on April 30, with stalwarts of Congress and BJP clashing on the high pitched election battlefield.
leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, and Punjab’s former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh are pitted against each other in a mother of all battles for this lok Sabha
constituency.
Generally being seen as the ‘match of the tournament’, the Amritsar electoral battle is no less than an Indo-Pak world cup clash. Here, nobody really know, in whose favour the scales will tilt.
The Akali and BJP leaders might have thought that retaining the Amritsar seat would be a cakewalk for a leader of Jaitley’s stature, but things underwent great change after Capt Amarinder was declared Congress candidate against him.
If Capt Amarinder was to be believed, Congress national president Sonia Gandhi was mulling over his name for Amritsar, after he turned down Bathinda offer, much before Jailtey’s name was declared.
Entering the Parliamentary battlefield for the first time during his 30-year-long political career, the three-time Rajya Sabha MP is facing a known face in Punjab, who has contested nothing less than 13 elections, assembly and parliamentary, so far.
Even as people in Punjab know Jaitley as a senior proficient BJP leader, he has all along been targeted by the opposition as an “outsider” or “pseudo Punjabi”. In an apparent attempt to prove himself a “local”, he was seen addressing and conversing with locals in Punjabi.
He also highlighted the connection of his mother, and his wife with the city. More to prove himself to be a Punjabi, he was quick enough to buy a house for himself, though he along with his family is yet to shift.
Jaitley is facing a former MP and consecutively seven-time MlA, whom people know as their former chief minister. A familiar Sikh face, who needs no introduction, would surely benefit the Congress party considering 64 per cent vote share of Sikh community in the constituency.
Besides, Capt Amarinder also enjoys support among farmers, and, to some extent, can also bank on sizable Scheduled Caste vote bank of the Congress. What Capt Amarinder’s nomination as party candidate from Amritsar further benefited the faction-ridden Congress is that the party now stand united, at least for this election.
But, his one statement, allegedly supporting 1984 anti-Sikh riots’ main accused Jagdish Tytler, has not gone own well with Sikhs and have upset them.
As both the Congress and the SAD-BJP combine candidates are facing anti-incumbency, at the Centre and in the State respectively, and fighting the same, they are also facing a common enemy — the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Though not emerging as a strong challenger to the two stalwarts, AAP’s Dr Daljit Singh — a renowned eye surgeon who has conducted 20 lakh surgeries in his life time - is going to change the equations of both the parties for sure.
Political observers believed that in an already neck-and-neck battle between Capt Amarinder and Jaitley, AAP’s Dr Daljit’s presence has made the battle all the more nail-biting. They believed that as 71-year-old Dr Daljit enjoys great reputation because of his profession and is a known name, he may attract votes that would damage Congress vote share.
As a SAD-BJP candidate, Jaitley is fighting head on with another opponent — anger against the Akali Government, especially the local MlA and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.
Majitha MlA Majithia, also the brother-in-law of SAD president and deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, has been given the responsibility of ensuring Jaitley’s victory in Amritsar considering his past performance in Delhi Assembly and Gurdwara polls.
It has been learnt that many people have expressed their displeasure over seeing Majithia accompanying Jaitley, following which the BJP leader has asked the Youth Akali Dal chief not to be seen publicly with him.
Resentment among people against Majithia-Sukhbir duo is stronger than issues of corruption, inflation, against the Congress. Moreover, it seems that the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s wave has also proved
ineffective.
Besides the issues of property tax, law and order, drug menace, sand-gravel increasing prices and its shortage, among others, people in Amritsar have still not forgotten the unfortunate incident of police cop’s killing in broad daylight while trying to save honour of his daughter.
During Capt Amarinder’s recent interaction with the girl students, they asked the senior Congressman to make women’s safety his main issue.
Believing that Jaitley has capability to work for Amritsar’s development, and would surely hold a key position when BJP form its next Government at the Centre, the BJP Amritsar unit leaders also apprehend that Akali’s support is damaging the party’s otherwise fair chances.
The people in the rural Amritsar, and urban, irrespective of being Hindu or Sikh, a strong groundswell of hatred against the Akalis is being felt. “Jaitley should not have agreed to contest elections in the first place. He was doing great work in the Rajya Sabha. He agreed after lot of persuasion by the Badals, who assured him of an easy win. But after Capt coming into field, the going gets a little tough considering resentment against Akalis,” a BJP leader shares his views with The Pioneer.
Jaitley was brought in after sitting BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu raised a banner of revolt against its own Government in the State, targeting particularly the Badals, over the diversion of funds meant for Amritsar, and scuttling his development projects. Replacing three-time MP with a new comer may have evoked sharp reaction from him, thus the party decided to bring his political mentor to contest the polls.
Talk to the electors, and they said, “Seeing what Congress has done in its past two terms, we would be happy to have BJP Government, though all are same, nothing could go worse than what they have done. But as far as local issues are concerned, person of Jaitley’s stature representing Amritsar is what required. But, Capt Amarinder is also emerging as a better choice. Nothing can be said…it’s a neck-to-neck tie,” said a city-based employee in a multi-national company.
Irate over the current state of affairs, a daily labourer said: “This Government is looting the poor and keeping the rich people happy. There is nothing for the poor…they are the one who is suffering. They loot us, threaten us, beat us…We would vote for hand.”
Issues
Not knowing local issues from the deep, Jaitley has been seen raising mainly national level issues like corruption, Congress’ poor performance in combating price rise, drugs, economic slowdown, country’s security, defence deals, among others.
Though he has also come up with his ‘vision document’ for Amritsar city to develop it as a tourism hub, developing heritage sites, buildings, erecting flyovers, etc, his Congress rival Capt Amarinder has claimed that he has prepared the same document during his tenure as Chief Minister way back in 2006 which he has now handed over to Amritsar’s chamber of commerce for updating the same.
Besides his favourite age-old 1984 riots and Operation Bluestar issue, Capt Amarinder has also targeted the SAD-BJP State Government on the local issues like property tax, drug menace, exodus of industries, local drug mafia particularly targeting Majithia, poor law and order, sand shortage, piles of garbage around Amritsar city, among other things.
Drugs has emerged as the main issue for this border State as Capt Amarinder has blamed the Parkash Singh Badal-led State Government and Majithia in particular; Jaitley and SAD pointed at the Congress-led Central Government’s failure to secure the borders allowing influx of drugs.
“No one talks about employment. Youth today are worried about their future, and are indulging in wrong activities, even into drugs which is easily available here. Employment can be generated when there is industrial development…Being a border district, no industry comes here. Amritsar also need similar package that Centre has been rejecting since long,” said a shopkeeper.
An autorickshaw driver believed that corruption done by SAD-BJP Government in Punjab is much more than Congress, but it cannot defy the Modi factor. “There was lot more corruption by the Akali leaders during the second term. The Government even did not check it or take action against them. All this has made our life difficult, those who are poor. People want to throw out this Government. They have Congress as an option, but then people also want Modi to be the Prime Minister for what all development he has done in Gujarat. We are confused.”
Modi effect
Jaitley maintained that each of Modi’s rallies was extremely well attended, and the enthusiasm at the rallies, coupled with large attendance, was proof of Modi’s popularity.
Terming Modi’s visit to Punjab just before five days the State goes to polls on April 30 as a “game changer”, Jaitley stated that the most significant section where Modi appeal is clearly visible is the youth.
Assembly segments
Amritsar lok Sabha constituency comprise nine Assembly segments, out of which six are represented by the SAD-BJP combine —Ajnala, Majitha, Amritsar North, Amritsar East, Amritsar South, and Attari. Remaining three — Amritsar West, Raja Sansi, and Amritsar Central — have Congress MlAs.