Congress, AAP, BJP locked in close contest, SAD faces uphill task

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, June 3

A day ahead of the Lok Sabha election results, the most common guess that psephologists could make was that for Jalandhar (reserved) seat, it would be a close fight between Congress candidate Charanjit Channi, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Sushil Rinku and Aam Aadmi Party candidate Pawan Tinu, with the former expected to have a slight edge.

Though the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Sushil Rinku also campaigned well and drew a lot of votes from the three urban segments on June 1, the party’s performance in the rural areas, especially in the Kartarpur and Adampur reserved segments, is not expected to touch the five digit mark. The party managed to set up a booth in each of the 957 villages of Jalandhar but these were mostly being managed by a loner. The BJP, however, is expected to have received some support from the Valmik community of Jalandhar, both in the urban and rural pockets.

For Channi also, the campaign has not been a smooth ride. He faced challenges in all four SC segments of the total nine from Jalandhar. In Phillaur, Congress MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary had turned rebel and his mother Karamjit Chaudhary had joined the BJP. In Adampur, his nephew Manraj’s father-in-law Mohinder Singh Kaypee got annoyed and became the Akali candidate. In Kartarpur, AAP minister Balkar Singh posed him a tough challenge. The fact that BSP candidate Balwinder Kumar is expected to do well in Kartarpur also goes against Channi. Since BJP candidate Sushil Rinku is from Jalandhar West and he made it a matter of prestige for himself to do well from this segment, Channi faces a tough challenge here too.

If Channi faced certain disadvantages, so did AAP’s Tinu. Having crossed the 3 lakh figure in May 2023 bypoll, the AAP is not expected to do as well once again. If the free 300 units of power per month came as a big boost for the party around that time, the party committed a series of follies too, especially since it could not retain its lone Lok Sabha MP Rinku. The unfulfilled promises that Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann made about a year back including the setting up of Sports University here and a research centre in the name of Guru Ravidass at Dera Sachkhand Ballan, over which Rinku claimed that he quit the party, is expected to result in some losses. The sleazy video of an AAP minister that went viral too is learnt to have done some damage.

However, the fact that the SAD may not do well again will have votes shifting towards both the AAP and the Congress in the rural segments. Sukhbir Badal’s Punjab Bachao Yatra concluded even before it could enter Jalandhar. As attempts were being made by the Congress to polarise Dalits towards itself and the Hindus towards the BJP, the SAD leadership could not polarise the urban Sikhs towards it. There are speculations that the BSP could do better than the SAD, which could get relegated to number 5 position in Jalandhar.

Having watched the contest from close, Prof GC Kaul, a sociologist and writer, said, “I feel that a larger chunk of 40 per cent Dalit voters stood consolidated behind the former Dalit CM Channi, though all parties would have got some votes from the community. To my mind, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, the BJP would have got the least share from the Dalit votes. The flagging of issues like assurance on naming of Adampur airport after Guru Ravi Dass would not have helped Rinku. The voters of Jalandhar seemed to have lost trust in him for changing party for the third time in quick succession.”

In the second reserved seat from Doaba — Hoshiarpur — the contest remains triangular with Dalit votes set to split between AAP’s Raj Kumar Chabbewal, BJP’s Anita Som Parkash and Congress’s Yamini Gomar. Gomar, who was initially considered to be a weak candidate, managed a good campaign with her simple, sobre style and good oratorical skills. Her statement, “My pockets are empty but my intentions are clean,” gave her campaign a fillip in the last two weeks.

Stage set in Jalandhar too

Jalandhar: The district administration is all set for the counting of votes for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency here on Tuesday. Divulging details, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Himanshu Aggarwal said elaborate arrangements had been made for smooth counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections. The DC said no stone would be left unturned to ensure that the entire counting process was completed peacefully. He said three-tier security arrangements had been made for EVMs and VVPAT machines. In order to ensure law and order situation outside counting centres, Rapid Action Force, Quick Response Team and riot control vehicles had been deployed.