SAD formula for patch up: Hug,thank the loser

The panchayat elections,though not fought on party symbols invariably have candidates being supported by one political party or the another. This time,the polls have been virtually a SAD show with party workers and supporters in the fray against one another at several places.

In Moga,supporters of one Akali MLA got the other Akali MLA locked in a room on the day of the elections. Here two were injured in pre-poll violence also when the factions of the Akalis clashed. Clashes among akalis were reported from Faridkot,Ferozepur and Amritsar bringing out the party’s ugly internal rifts.

Sources add that the SAD was not too keen on these elections even being held knowing that they are likely to be left with a divided cadre which is bound to have its impact on the parliamentary polls. The manner in which the party leaders made their workers swear in gurudwaras that their allegiance to the SAD will remain intact even if they faced each other in these elections,pointed towards the party’s leadership sense of insecurity.

The Congress too made the most of the division. In many villages they left the field open for the Akalis to fight against one another. At other places the Congress is said to have openly supported opposing SAD candidates aiming to get a foothold in the cracks that were developing in the party’s rural folds.

SAD general secretary and spokesman Daljit Cheema said the party leadership was already working towards ensuring that the bitterness among the Akali workers does not last for too long. “It happens during every panchayat poll as these are held at the grassroots level. Party hold is not as strong as the aspirations of the people who though together support a party stand against one another.” he said.

“ We have already begun an exercise to ensure that the differences that have cropped up do not last too long,” added Cheema.

Party leaders have been asked to identify the villages where the panchayat polls have led to a severe fighting among workers and intervene to bring the two factions together. “The first step is to ensure that the winning candidate goes to the house of the one who stood against him ,hug him and thank him and sit with him his house for some time. This exercise is very important in a village as it restores the dignity of the losing candidate and ends the bitterness. We will call the opposing candidate to confirm if the winning candidate has come to his house or not,” explained Cheema.

“ In another fifteen days we will be able to bring everyone back together. The MLAs will be handling the villages in their constituencies and reporting about the status,” said Cheema.