LS results set alarm bells ringing for Manpreet

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 24

The results of the Bathinda Lok Sabha elections have set alarm bells ringing for Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal as Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring trailed by 3,743 votes from his Bathinda (Urban) constituency.

It is also an indication that if Manpreet Badal wants to win again from the Assembly constituency, he has to pull up his socks.

Apart from this, Manpreet Badal also failed to secure a lead for the Congress candidate from the Assembly segments of his former PPP colleagues Ranjit Kaur Bhatti and Harvinder Singh Laddi in Budhlada and Bathinda (Rural). Bhatti is the Congress halqa in charge of Budhlada and Laddi is in-charge from Bathinda (Rural). Both leaders are from the Manpreet’s group.

This election results have come as a shocker for Manpreet Badal as during campaigning, he had said “Amrinder Singh Raja Warring’s defeat would be political murder for him”.

Moreover, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had also announced that if any minister failed to secure a lead from his or her Assembly segment for the Congress candidate, he would drop him or her from the Cabinet. Now, his opponents have started training guns at him.

Another major reason behind the trail for the Congress candidate in Bathinda (Urban) was that Warring failed to make a direct connect with city residents during campaigning.

Warring and his family members focused more on rural areas and they failed to cover the entire city due to which many people were unaware of the Congress candidate in the city.

Most of the residents were aware of SAD candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Political analysts beleieved that as Warring hails from Muktsar and represents the Gidderbaha Assembly segment, an “outside” tag led to diversion of votes in the Urban constituency towards the SAD.

Bathinda city was considered to be a stronghold of the Congress as its candidates got leads of 15,000 votes and 29,000 votes in 2009 and 2014, respectively. It also indicates that core team of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal has failed to deliver in the city.

The lead from Bathinda (Urban) also surprised SAD-BJP leaders and workers as they were also not expecting such results from the Assembly constituency.

Associates also fail to secure lead

• Manpreet Badal also failed to secure a lead for the Congress candidate from the Assembly segments of his former PPP colleagues Ranjit Kaur Bhatti and Harvinder Singh Laddi in Budhlada and Bathinda (Rural).  Bhatti is the Congress halqa in charge of Budhlada and Laddi is in-charge from Bathinda (Rural). Both leaders are from the Manpreet's group. 
• Bathinda city was considered to be a stronghold of the Congress as its candidates got leads of 15,000 votes and 29,000 votes in 2009 and 2014, respectively..