AAP gains upper hand in Ropar Zila Parishad election as Congress, SAD, BJP fragment opposition vote

In Ropar district, referred to as the Paudh area of Punjab, AAP seems to have an edge over the main opposition party, the Congress. While the Congress is giving a spirited fight to AAP in the Anandpur Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib Assembly constituencies, in Ropar Assembly constituency, AAP already has a clear edge as the party has failed to put up candidates in two out of three Zila Parishad zones. Besides, SAD and BJP are also fighting the Zila Parishad poll on their own, which would divide the opposition vote in favour of the ruling AAP.

There are 10 Zila Parishad zones in three Assembly constituencies in the district, including four in Anandpur Sahib, three in Ropar, and three in Chamkaur Sahib. In Ropar, the Congress gave a cakewalk to AAP in two out of the three zones for Zila Parishad, as it failed to put up candidates in the Kamla Mor and Mianpur zones. Congress leader Barinder Singh Dhillon accepted that it was the fault of his party workers who could not reach the office of ADC Ropar in time to file their nomination papers.

Interestingly, in Ropar, the papers of the Congress party candidate from an important Panchayat Samiti block, Nurpur Bedi, were rejected, giving AAP an edge in the area. In Anandpur Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib Assembly constituencies, senior Congress leaders, former speaker KP Rana and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, are involved in hectic campaigning for Zila Parishad poll. Both leaders are fighting the election aggressively, posing a challenge to AAP in their respective areas.

BJP has entered the fray in 8 Zila Parishad zones in Ropar district. It is the first time that BJP is fighting Zila Parishad election on its own without the support of SAD. Sources said that BJP is trying to test its strength in rural areas of the Ropar district, for which it was earlier dependent on SAD support. Though BJP has entered the Zila Parishad poll in Ropar in 8 out of 10 zones, the party is not fighting the election with full vigour at the ground level. None of the senior leaders of the party has joined the election campaign at the ground level. The party campaign is dependent on their local leadership.

SAD (Badal) is also contesting 8 out of 10 Zila Parishad zones in the Ropar district. In alliance with BJP, SAD (Badal) had a stronghold in Ropar and Chamkaur Sahib, while BJP used to dominate in the Anandpur Sahib constituency. With SAD fighting Zila Parishad poll in Ropar on its own, it would have a tough going against the ruling AAP.

For Zila Parishad poll, there are 36 candidates in the fray, including 10 of AAP, 8 of the Congress, 8 of BJP, 8 of SAD, and 2 of BSP. In the Panchayat Samiti election, AAP is contesting all 93 zones, the Congress is contesting 87, BJP is contesting 45, SAD is contesting 48, BSP is contesting 5, and Independents are contesting 4 zones.