Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 24
Parliamentary elections in Punjab are always considered a referendum on the performance of the political party in power, since these elections happen midway through the term of the state government. An Assembly segment-wise analysis of results of the Lok Sabha elections in the 13 parliamentary constituencies here reveals that the Congress still has a lead in 69 Assembly segments, way up the majority mark of 58 seats in the Assembly.
Though the party is short of lead on just eight Assembly seats as compared to 77 seats it won in 2017, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is already taking note of it while admitting yesterday that the party did not perform well in urban pockets. He is not just recommending a change in the portfolio of the Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to ensure speedier compliance of development works, but is learnt to have told his officers to come up with new innovative ideas to woo the urban voters and not cede any political space to his rivals.
While the news is good for the Capt Amarinder Singh government, it is not too heartening for either the SAD or AAP. If these results are to be analysed Assembly segment wise, the SAD has a lead in just 24 segments (as compared to 15 seats it won in 2017 Assembly polls). The party has won just two (Bathinda and Ferozepur) of the 10 parliamentary seats it contested and 14 of the Assembly segments it has managed a lead in are in these two constituencies.
In the Majha belt, the SAD has managed a lead in just one segment and in just three segments in Doaba. Other than the nine segments of Ferozepur and five of Bathinda, the party has managed a lead in just six other Assembly segments of Malwa, including Gidderbaha (represented by Congress candidate from Bathinda in this election, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring). The impact of sacrilege incidents of 2015 has been felt maximum in the Malwa and Majha regions.
The AAP that had won 20 seats in 2017, now has lead in just seven segments — all in the Sangrur parliamentary seat. The party has failed to make a mark in any other part of Punjab. Hit hard by the rebellion and split, the party could not get lead in most constituencies represented by its MLAs — Kharar, Talwandi Sabo, Sunam and Bathinda (Rural) to name a few.
On the other hand, the results have come as good news for the BJP. The party contested on three parliamentary seats (27 Assembly segments) and has taken a lead in 11 segments, all in the two seats it has won — Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the party contested 23 seats, but won just three.
Lead in Assembly seats
- Gurdaspur Cong-2, BJP-7
- Amritsar Cong-8, SAD-1
- Khadoor Sahib Cong-9
- Jalandhar Cong-5, SAD-3, BSP-1
- Hoshiarpur Cong-5, BJP-4
- Anandpur Sahib Cong-6, SAD-2, BSP-1
- Fatehgarh Sahib Cong-8, SAD-1
- Patiala Cong-8, SAD-1
- Sangrur Cong-1, SAD-1, AAP-7
- Bathinda Cong-4, SAD-5
- Ferozepur SAD-9
- Faridkot Cong-8, SAD-1
- Ludhiana Cong-5, LIP-4