Kanshi gets new punching bag, it’s BSP

Last time, he had barely managed to scrape through from Hoshiarpur with a margin of over 10,000 votes. Fighting the last elections in Punjab with Akali Dal (Badal) support, the BSP had won three seats. However, this time Kanshi Ram jumped on to the Congress bandwagon. He says the ineffectiveness of the Punjab BSP was a reason. “Otherwise, I have not forged any alliances in big states like UP or Madhya Pradesh,”he tells a crowd of Congress and BSP supporters.

Whether it is a meeting at Patiala or Phillaur or Ferozepur, the tone and tenor of his speeches are the same. He admonishes his candidates in public for mustering small crowds at his meetings.

His agenda is brazen.“I want the BSP to win 55 seats in the Parliamentary election so that no Central Government is formed without my assistance”, he says. Talk of stability plank of the Congress, and Kanshi scoffs at it saying he won’t allow any stable Government to function. He is not bothered about the State Congress leaders who share the stage with him.

Hopping from one constituency to another in a chopper, Kanshi does not forget to remind his supporters that they should not be jealous of his “latest luxury.” There was a time when I used to travel on a bicycle and once cycled 1,200 km during an election campaign in UP,” he says.

Kanshi’s dictatorial style has already cost him a trusted lieutenant and founder president of the Punjab unit, Satnam SinghKainth, who has formed a separate outfit in Punjab. He is contesting from Phillaur and posting a serious challange to the BSP nominee and former MP Harbhajan Lakha. Another BSP MP in the 11th Lok Sabha, Mohan Singh Phalianwala from Ferozepur almost followed suit but was persuaded by Kanshi to stay with him.