Bajwa takes hit but can bounce back
Bajwa's detractors call him an untrusting leader who doesn't delegate responsibilities and powers
The recent state panchayat polls would never have been easy going for new Punjab PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa,a Rahul Gandhi appointee. The best hope was that the Congress would improve its tally; it ended up doing worse.
Panchayat polls,without exception,are heavily loaded in favour of the ruling party. And the rural voter is the Akali Dal’s main vote bank. However,despite Bajwa campaigning extensively in the searing summer heat,in contrast to the Badals,the Congress even lost in some of its traditional strongholds. Of the total 331 zila parishad zones in 22 zila parishads,the SAD-BJP won 297 and the Congress 26. Similar sweep was seen in the 2,732 panchayat samitis.
The Congress lost heavily in Bajwa’s own turf Majha,that includes Gurdaspur,which he represents in the Lok Sabha. Of the 23 zila parishad zone seats in Gurdaspur,the party won just one. In his Assembly seat Qadian,now represented by wife Charanjit,the Congress got just three out of 15 block samiti seats.
The ‘Majha Express’ — as Bajwa is called — had been given the full run of Punjab,and his specific challenge was to extend his area of influence beyond Majha to the politically important Malwa and Doaba. Despite the Akali-BJP sweep of Malwa,the Congress made some gains there,though it was offset by its loss in strongholds such as the Patiala parliamentary seat held by Union minister Preneet Kaur.
With the party divided as ever and the Amarinder Singh camp keeping its distance even during the polls,Bajwa can expect knives to sharpen against him. His detractors call him an untrusting leader who doesn’t delegate responsibilities and powers.
That his coronation was followed by the high command appointing four vice-presidents and quashing his first few appointments have not helped his image either. Some believe the lack of a high-tech back office such as predecessor Amarinder Singh’s is hurting Bajwa. Amarinder’s men left with him,and Bajwa has often been found at a loss of words on statistics.
Some numbers though he has worked out just fine. The one silver lining for the Congress is that Bajwa managed to reach an understanding with the Manpreet Badal-led Sanjha Morcha and BSP on many seats — something Amarinder failed at. While the gains have been few this time,the Congress can expect a payoff in the 2014 general elections.
Sukhdeep is a special correspondent based at Chandigarh
sukhdeep.kaur@expressindia.com
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