As poll nears, poaching pangs worry Congress in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, March 15

Two prominent faces of the Punjab Congress leaving the party back-to-back to join AAP ahead of the parliamentary elections have left the party leadership embarrassed.

“Are party leaders slipping away due to disenchantment with the state leadership or lack of cohesion among senior leaders?,” all do not seem well in the grand old party.

Next in line?

Senior party leaders fear that with AAP and the BJP being desperate to poach more leaders for Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Anandpur Sahib seats, a former MLA from Jalalabad, another from Nawanshahr and a sitting MLA from Gurdaspur could be the next in line.

Chabbewal opportunist: Warring

• In 2022, the Congress by projecting Charanjit Channi as the CM face relied on the Dalit vote bank, but it failed
• Now, ahead of the General Election, the leadership lost its two prominent Dalit faces to AAP within a week
• Pardesh Congress Committee chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring described Dr Chabbewal as an opportunist, who had been given his due over the years

Senior party leaders fear that with AAP, SAD and the BJP being desperate to poach more leaders for Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Anandpur Sahib seats, a former MLA from Jalalabad, another from Nawanshahr and a sitting MLA from Gurdaspur could be the next in line.

“With the AAP government still has three years in the state and no hope of the Congress returning to power at the Centre, some leaders are preferring to go with the trend,” said a senior party leader.

CLP Leader Partap Bajwa said Dr Chabbewal had gone under deal with AAP. “His brother has been promised a Cabinet berth in the byelection from Chabbewal. He has sold his conscience and backstabbed the party in difficult times. AAP had gone back on its promises of following the principals of Dr BR Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The party stands exposed,” he said.

PPCC chief Amrinder Raja Warring described Dr Chabbewal as an opportunist, who had been given his due over the years. “It is just the trend of ‘politics of opportunism’ by the leaders, who try to secure their political future by aligning with the party in power,” he said.

Senior party leaders are now brain-storming on preventing any other leader from leaving the party. “In the wake of poaching efforts by opponents, a list of potential candidates like in case of Hoshiarpur needs to be re-worked. We would meet in the coming days to rework on the list in some constituencies. Former CM Charanjit Channi could be fielded from Jalandhar or Hoshiarpur,” said a senior PPCC leader.

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