- The ensuing state assembly elections in five states viz. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur are being watched with keenness by different stakeholders for obvious reasons. Of course, Uttar Pradesh holds the maximum interest by being the centerpiece as the road to New Delhi must be traversed via the most populous state by first winning the battle here. As such, the UP election holds the ability to make or break any political party aspiring to lay claim to forming the Union Government is stating the obvious. No wonder, two important political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party are leaving no stone unturned in aggressively electioneering to impress upon the electorate to bless them.
PC: Administrator
- The Grand Old Party, the India National Congress, sadly has not only lost the traction which it once enjoyed in Uttar Pradesh but also is struggling to remain relevant having ceded space to other competing political parties. However, the border state of Punjab holds definite promise to the ruling Congress even though there is an equally strong pitch being made by the opposition parties viz. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal, and BJP-newly formed Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), respectively. Departing from the usual practice, the ruling Congress has declared the incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as its CM-candidate bowing to the pressure exerted by the top state leadership.
- In doing so, Punjab is all set to host the most fascinating of contests among the five states where several contenders are vying to cross the hurdle at the hustings. Apart from the parties mentioned above, the newly politically blooded farmer’s party SSM will be watched keenly too. Don’t forget the mercurial and maverick Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, desperately aspiring to be named as the CM-face, whose good behavior post the Channi announcement may not hold given his track record so far. Remember, Congress has huge stakes in Punjab, given how small its national footprint is. By picking Channi, whose appeal to Punjab’s 31% Dalit voters is a factor, although, in the typically complicated way of Indian politics, Punjab’s Dalits to are not always one block, the Ramdasia-Ravidasia divide being the most critical.
PC: Amit Bhardwaj
- Channi, a Ramdasia, has his task cut out here, as he has in dealing with unpredictable Sidhu, should he decide to don rebel-mode yet again. Further, AAP’s urban support may be more viable than its rural one, where Congress and Akalis, despite being bruised, fancy their chances. Also, most observers reckon votes gained by the Amarinder-BJP combine may be mostly at the cost of Congress. Thus, Channi’s ability to pull Dalit votes is so crucial for Congress, and the CM’s second seat from Malwa belt, where AAP is supposedly strong, is also an indication of how much Congress depends on him. Mind you, if voters don’t deliver a clear verdict, which is likely to be the case, post-poll manoeuvres may be even more interesting than the election itself. Brace for it!
