Slow and steady wins the race is a maxim that does not work well in politics for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal. After the initial setback of being ally to a party that scripted controversial farm laws — the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) — besides still being under the scanner for sacrilege incidents, Sukhbir has virtually being playing “fastest finger first” to finalise the candidates for 2022 state assembly polls in Punjab.
At the time when the state’s all other major political parties are struggling to keep their house in order, the Akali Dal has already announced more than half of its candidates for the ensuing polls, scheduled to be held early next year.
On Monday, the party has released its first list of candidates with 64 names, of which 22 were already announced by Sukhbir during a series of rallies and public meetings he addressed before Punjab’s farmers’ outfits imposed a virtual ban on holding huge political gatherings in the state before the polls were officially announced.
SAD is contesting 97 of the 117 assembly seats in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has also announced its candidates on three seats, out of 20 in its share. SAD snapped its decades-old ties with the old ally BJP over the contentious farm laws, and announced its alliance with BSP in June.
SAD and BSP had earlier contested the 1996 Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Punjab.
Akali Dal, which is not considered to be on a politically strong footing taking into account their alliance with the BJP when the controversial farm laws were passed coupled with the shadow of sacrilege still eclipsing their chances, has finally devised a strategy to announce its candidates beforehand for the elections which are still four months away.
As per general practice, the political parties declare their candidates after the poll panel officially announce the poll dates. In fact, Sukhbir Badal started announcing the candidates at a much earlier stage, when elections were about 10 months away. He announced the first lot of eight candidates in April.
Sukhbir’s decision to rely on the policy of ‘early announcement gets the seat’ comes at a time when the rival forces are either indulging in infighting or are yet to make up their mind. Notably, the ruling Congress facing intense power struggle with the party divided between two power centres — each headed by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and the state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu. The infighting has intensified to such an extent that Sidhu camp has sought Capt Amarinder’s ouster with many declaring not to contest 2022 polls under his leadership.
At the same time, the principal opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also struggling to find a face to lead party during the elections. It is believed that absence of the Chief Ministerial face cost the party in 2017 polls, when it was confident to even form the government. Besides, the splinter groups, including Shiromani Akali Dal (Samyukt) of Akali veterans — Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Ratan Singh Ajnala, among others — are also yet to make any headway. Being under the scanner on sacrilege (beadbi), Akali Dal was disintegrating brick by brick with taksali (traditional) Akalis revolting against the party, while questioning Sukhbir’s leadership. In 2017, the party that ruled for a decade finished at distant third.
Undeterred, Sukhbir once again put his managerial skills at work, and devised a poll strategy to announce the candidates early, poaching rebels and disgruntled leaders of other parties, and forging a new alliance, by switching into a poll mode. Akali Dal, realising that winning the people’s trust would not be an easy task, believed that it would be a best move to fight the forthcoming assembly polls by announcing the candidates much in advance.
“SAD put its entire political machinery at work. The party cadre, including the youth and students’ wings, besides others, were galvanised. Besides, the ticket aspirants were given the targets to organise well-attended rallies, and when someone meets the target, Sukhbir announces his name as the party candidate right there,” sources told The Pioneer.
It has been learnt that when one of the ticket aspirant, SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur’s son-in-law, Yuvraj Bhupinder Singh, failed to put up an impressive show, Badal did not announce his candidature. Yuvraj had unsuccessfully contest 2017 polls from Bholath and lost to Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
The political pundits believed that SAD is fielding the candidates who can steer the party to victory, instead of the other way around. Moreover, the Congress’ infighting and AAP’s mismanagement is also working in Akali Dal’s favour.