Hit by the anti-Congress wave in the four States and wiped out by the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, Congress is now looking for support from the third front in Punjab.
The party is now trying to find the supporting hand of the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) to pull it out of the shadows in the State. After apparently receiving nod from the High Command, the party has started negotiations with the two parties for forging a united front against the “all-powerful” Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition in the State. The proposal for the same was forwarded after a promo during the State’s Panchayati Raj institution elections where Congress joined hands with PPP and CPI at several places. The party had also made a pact with the Bahujan Samaj Party, in Doaba, considered to be BSP’s stronghold owing to maximum dalit voters.
Congress has all along been facing defeats in the elections that took place in Punjab over the past three years. Its continuous poll debacles, and incapability to dent the ruling SAD-BJP’s winning spree has advanced the party’s proposal to forging an alliance with the “like-minded” parties. The PPP chief and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal has time and again hinted at the “possible” alliance with the Congress for the 2014 lok Sabha elections. The CPI, at the national level, had also made clear its intentions of going in for State-specific alliances.
Sources in the party maintained that the State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa is in touch with the leaders concerned of the two parties.Bajwa is in favour of forging an alliance with the PPP, besides making a strong pitch for the CPI, CPI (Marxist), BSP, and Shiromani Akali Dal (longowal). Already, PPP, CPI, CPI (M) and SAD (longowal) have formed a united front — Sanjha Morcha — that managed to pocket 5.17 per cent votes that cost Congress a defeat in the 2012 Assembly polls, but to secure even a single seat. Political experts had also concluded that the PPP candidates were responsible for the defeat of at least 15 Congress candidates by close margins.
Congress, despite facing a resounding defeat in the State Assembly polls, 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 — adding up to 41.88 per cent. Bajwa’s predecessor Capt Amarinder Singh had several times extended a friendly hand towards the PPP, and other Opposition parties in the state to form a “united Opposition”, however, the same did not materialise. Carrying forward his proposal, Bajwa is now working out ways and means to form an alliance to confront Akali Dal-BJP alliance in the forthcoming lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, the political analysts believed that the deal was not a distant reality, considering the fact that an enemy’s foe has the potential of being a companion.
Moreover, the two parties need each other for maintaining their presence in the State. It is understood that Congress and PPP have agreed to back CPI at Faridkot parliamentary seat held by the SAD, while Congress and CPI have offered to back PPP at Bathinda seat from where they are keen to field Manpreet against Akali MP and Badal bahu Harsimrat Kaur Badal. For the rest of 11 seats, Congress has offered to contest, for which the CPI and PPP are yet to give their nod.