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Journalism of Courage
In the run-up to the Rajasthan Assembly elections later this year, Congress leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat will be in the state to boost the party’s campaign in all 200 constituencies, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has said.
Randhawa, who is a former deputy chief minister of Punjab, told The Indian Express, “The leaders from Punjab will focus on areas with high Sikh population. Apart from the districts of Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, there are areas like Alwar, Kota, Bundi and Ajmer that have a sizeable Sikh population.”
Some leaders from Punjab Congress have already been touring these districts in Rajasthan over the past few months, giving feedback about the organisational structure in the districts, among other things. Congress’s Gurdaspur MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra has been assigned to do the groundwork in Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, the two districts with the highest population of Sikhs in Rajasthan. He was entrusted with the task along with former MLA Davinder Singh Ghubaiya and former district Congress chief Bhagwantpal Singh Sachar.
As per the 2011 Census, there are more than 4.74 lakh Sikhs in Ganganagar and over 2.17 lakh Sikhs in Hanumangarh district. Both districts share the border with Punjab’s Malwa region. There are more than 64,000 Sikhs in Alwar, 20,000 in Bikaner, more than 17,000 in Jaipur, around 11,000 each in Bundi and Kota, around 5,000 in Ajmer, and over 3,000 in Jodhpur.
Pahra told The Indian Express that during visits to the two districts he found out about some sticky issues related to the Congress’s local organisational structure. “In the organisational structure announced last month, 25 new district presidents were appointed by the Congress in Rajasthan. My feedback was taken into account to effect changes in the areas I visited.”
Ghubaiya said he observed that there was “absolutely no anti-incumbency” in Ganganagar and Hanumangarh. Reflecting on his visits, Randhawa said, “It was an exercise to gather feedback on the working of the local party leaders.” He added that as the elections inch closer, the party would bring more leaders from Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi for the election campaign.
He did not give any timeline though. “Only those party leaders will be engaged who would commit to the poll campaign with dedication and not just to mention the assignment in their resumes.”
Apart from Pahra, MLAs Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, who represents Fatehgarh Churian and Sukhbinder Singh Sukh Sarkaria, who represents Rajasansi, were tasked with visiting at least two other districts.
Bajwa said, “Duty was assigned to me, but I could not go even for a day due to family reasons.” Sarkaria is said to have visited but he did not respond to questions despite repeated attempts.
