Punjab Polls: 37 seats proving hard task for Amarinder Singh, struggles to find names

The Punjab Assembly has 117 seats in total.

After leaving the Congress over the chief minister change, Singh had repeatedly claimed that many more leaders would cross over to the PLC from the Congress closer to the elections. However, that has not happened.

That his partymen would prefer the BJP over the PLC symbol would be particularly galling for Singh, one of Punjab’s tallest leaders. While Singh had led the Congress to a sweeping 77 seats in the 2017 elections, these polls are the first time that the BJP is contesting more than 22-23 constituencies in Punjab. Till they broke up in 2020, the BJP had deferred to the Akali Dal as the senior partner in Punjab. This time, at least 71 candidates are fighting on the BJP symbol.

The first blow for Singh, after leaving the Congress on November 2, was the decision of one of his seniormost aides, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, to join the BJP rather than the PLC.

Later, the fledgling party had to return Raja Sansi, Zira and Nawanshahr constituency tickets to the BJP. This followed soon after Satvir Singh Pallijhikki, whom the PLC had given a ticket from Nawanshahr, chose to return to the Congress and take its offer from the seat instead. In Nakohar seat, the PLC had to replace its candidate, hockey Olympian Ajit Pal Singh.

Its candidate from Kotkapura, former BJP leader Dargesh Sharma, decided against contesting on PLC symbol and will be going with his parent party. The other PLC candidates who have opted for the BJP symbol include Prem Mittal, an ex-Akali MLA from Mansa who is fighting from Atamnagar; Jagmohan Sharma, ex-president of the District Congress Committee, Ludhiana, who is fighting from Ludhiana East; and Raj Numberdar, the candidate from Bathinda Urban.

All four are urban constituencies.

With Punjab headed for a five-corner contest, this leaves the PLC and particularly Singh, who might be fighting his last election, in a precarious situation. Singh himself is sitting pretty in his own seat, the family pocket borough Patiala Urban.

Denying a dearth of candidates, Singh told The Indian Express: “We have fielded the best possible names and we are sure that we will win. We are the only party to have fielded SCs in two general constituencies.”

He added that his candidates contesting on the BJP symbol was a strategic understanding, “This will get us the maximum benefit. If PLC candidates have opted for the BJP symbol, it is because they are fighting in urban areas and it has been done to get the votes that would have gone to the BJP. Two BJP candidates in rural-dominated segments, like Om Parkash Babbar from Gidderbaha, have opted for our hockey and ball symbol.”

On Rana Sodhi joining the BJP, Singh said it was his choice, “It suited him more to contest from Ferozepur City, which has a BJP presence. Moreover, he did not discuss it with me before joining the BJP.”

The former CM added: “The BJP and its allies will be the best combination for Punjab. We will work together to get the state out of the debt cycle. The PLC will do well and so will our allies. We are very confident of getting a majority. In case there is a hung Assembly, we will emerge as the largest party.”

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of the Congress said that everybody knew beforehand that the PLC would be a non-entity, “If Amarinder carried any political weight, why did we have to show him the door? He is one of the most unpopular leaders today… He knows where he stands now. More is in the offing. He will not get a single seat in the coming elections. In fact, his candidates will forfeit their deposits.”