Chabbewal (SC) seat | Triangular battle on cards: Cong hopes to get 3rd time lucky as AAP makes inroads

The seat was vacated by Congress MLA Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal after joining the AAP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Dr Chabbewal is now the AAP MP from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat.

The ruling AAP has fielded Dr Ishank Kumar, son of Dr Chabbewal, as its candidate. The Congress is betting on former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Ranjit Kumar, a lawyer, who had contested the Lok sabha election on a BSP ticket, and joined the Congress shortly before the by-election was announced. The BJP has nominated former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA and Punjab minister Sohan Singh Thandal, who recently switched to the BJP.

The SAD and the BSP opted to stay away from this by-election.

Interestingly, all three candidates in the fray are turncoats, leading to frequent accusations of defection during the campaign.

The AAP emphasised that having both an MP and an MLA from the same party would ensure faster and more focused development in the constituency. Dr Chabbewal highlighted the development work he carried out in the constituency during his tenure as a Congress MLA from 2017 until he was elected an AAP MP earlier this year. He also underscored his active involvement in Chabbewal since he entered politics in 2010.

Dr Ishank focused his campaign on infrastructure improvements such as better roads, community centres and a polytechnic college. He has also highlighted the AAP government’s welfare initiatives such as the provision of 300 units of free electricity.

Rival parties have been targeting the AAP government for its alleged failure to maintain law and order in the state, and its inability to tackle the pervasive drug menace and farmers’ issues.

The Congress emphasised the Chabbewal constituency traditionally favoured the party which won the past two elections in a row. AAP leaders, however, said in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, their candidate led from this constituency, “suggesting a shift in voters’ sentiment”.

“We are looking for a candidate’s integrity rather than the party,” said a resident of Chabbewal, reflecting the evolving political dynamics.

Although the Congress traditionally has a strong presence in the constituency, its candidate Ranjit Kumar is relatively new to the area.

Having recently shifted from the BSP to the Congress, Kumar may draw support from SC voters, as the BSP is not contesting the by-election.

Additionally, Kumar, also the president of the Hoshiarpur Bar Association, could garner the legal community’s votes. Senior Congress leaders are backing him, but there is discontent among local Congress workers due to the denial of a ticket to Kulwinder Singh Rasulpuri, who had been working actively in the constituency for months, despite earlier promises.

Former SAD minister Sohan Singh Thandal, a four-time MLA (1997-2012), who represented Chabbewal for two decades from 1997 to 2017 is now contesting on a BJP ticket. However, his defection has drawn flak from SAD and BJP loyalists who view his switching as “opportunistic”.

Thandal is also facing criticism from farmers who are angry over BJP’s policies. Besides, the BJP has not much presence here and even in 2019, the BJP candidate had lost security deposits in this segment.

AAP has, however, made notable gains since 2017, with its vote share increasing from 17.71 per cent to 34.40 per cent by 2022.

The reserved Chabbewal Assembly constituency with 1.59 lakh voters represents diverse Dalit communities such as Ravidassia, Valmiki and others. The voter demographics include 83,704 males, 75,724 females and four transgender individuals, besides 600 service voters — 571 male and 29 female. A total of 205 polling stations have been set up to facilitate voting.

The district administration has completed all necessary arrangements for the by-election. The voting will be conducted from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm and the counting of votes will take place on November 23. Polling parties will be dispatched to their respective stations on November 19 from the Rayat Bahra Group of Institutes.