Jalandhar bypoll result: Anti-incumbency still exists against Congress, party needs to put its house in order

Tribune News Service

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, May 13

A prelude to the 2024 general elections, the Jalandhar parliamentary bypoll results has a clear message for the Congress that anti-incumbency against the party in the 2022 assembly elections still exists and its house was still not in order. 

With the party candidate Karamjit Kaur, widow of former MP Santokh Chaudhary losing out to former Congress Jalandhar (west) MLA and AAP candidate Sushil Rinku by a margin of 58,691 votes, the poll debacle could trigger more defections or change of leadership in run-up to the general elections.

Though the party seemingly made every effort to put up a united front, AAP played to the gallery its anti-corruption tirade and dissensions in Congress. Senior party leaders admit that choice of candidate could have been better as there was also anti-incumbency against the Chaudhary’s within the party and amongst the voters.  

Party strategists claim that multiple factors like division of SC votes between SAD-BSP, BJP and Congress primarily spelled the doom for the Congress. While the Mazhabi and Hindu voters largely voted for the BJP candidate Inder Iqbal Atwal, the SAD-BJP candidate Dr Sukhwinder Sukhi rode on the BSP vote bank among the Ravidasias. Both factors ate in to Congress traditional vote bank, said Punjab Congress leaders. 

Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa, “I thank all party workers for putting a united show and fighting the election till the very end. We are introspecting the reasons behind the poll results. We will come back stronger in 2024 general elections.” 

Not discounting the division of votes and other external factors, a former PPCC Chief said the state leadership needs to go for course correction as the election revealed that though party leaders put up a united front, the party cadre at the ground level was still dis enchanted with the party since the term of former CM Capt Amarinder Singh. Whereas AAP has left no stone unturned, deploying huge resources to run a high-visibility campaign as its cadre moved from door-to-door in the last few days of the campaign.   

Though able to maintain its status of being the main opposition in the state, the Jalandhar reserved parliamentary seat despite being Congress bastion since 1999 did not help it. None of the party’s sitting MLAs in five assembly segments - Adampur, Jalandhar Cantt, Jalandhar (North), Phillaur and Shahkot could register a win in their respective segment. These MLAs had won in the 2022 poll debacle that otherwise saw party’s worst poll debacle. Former minister and MLA, Kapurthala Rana Gurjit, who has hold in Doaba region, was made the campaign committee in charge.  

“Neither the Charanjit Channi factor, campaign by Navjot Singh Sidhu nor sympathy votes for the Congress candidate worked. Compared to AAP deploying huge resources to run a high-visibility campaign, Congress was adequately short of funds required to contest the election,” admitted a senior party leader involved in the campaign strategy.  

Former minister and MLA, Kapurthala Rana Gurjit, has been made the campaign committee in charge and Avtar Singh Junior, MLA (North) Jalandhar, coordination committee in charge to ensure that the poaching attempts by opponents remain futile, said a senior leader. 

Former PPCC chief Shamsher singh Dullo said the party needed to bring forward leaders with clean image. The tainted leaders should not be put in the driving seat, he said.