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Akali Dal claims major victories

SURE OF WIN: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal

CHANDIGARH: While the results are yet to be announced officially by the Punjab Election Commission, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday claimed major victories in the elections to the Zila Parishads and the Panchayat Samitis, polling for which was held this past Monday.

Through separate statements, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, who heads the Akali Dal, while thanking the people described it as “an outstanding victory for the democratic spirit and a powerful vindication of the Akali-BJP commitment to value-based politics”. They claimed a landslide endorsement of the policies followed by the present State Government.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress, especially its youth leaders including the Congress MLAs from Kila Raipur in Ludhiana district and Bholath in Kapurthala district, Jasbir Singh Khangura and Sukhpal Singh Khaira, respectively, referred to various reports in the media to highlight alleged high-handedness of the Akali Dal and dismissed the polls as “murder of democracy”.

Referring to the incidents where BJP leaders and workers received serious injuries after being attacked by Akali activists, the president of the state unit of the Congress, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, demanded dismissal of the Badal government and imposition of President’s Rule as the law and order machinery had collapsed.

The widespread violence and allegations notwithstanding, political observers find the results quite interesting as pointers to some vital trends in the State’s polity. Many of them argue that though the political parties in power usually have an advantage in such local polls, Akali chief Sukhbir Singh has been successful in clearing the so-called “litmus test” as the party reclaimed the mass base, especially in the Malwa region, which it had conceded to the Congress during the Punjab Assembly elections last year. Though the credentials of Mr. Sukhbir Singh as a leader within the Akali party have been reinforced, especially after he played a pivotal role in the success during the Assembly elections and municipal polls, his relationship with the leadership of the alliance partner BJP has come under the scanner, which would have a deep bearing on the succession politics, remarked another observer of Punjab affairs.

Noted scholar and commentator S.S. Dosanjh said the results indicated near decimation of the Congress in the rural areas. He supported the argument that the Congress under the leadership of Ms. Bhattal could not put up even a semblance of an electoral battle. He predicted that this trend was likely to continue into the general elections for Parliament where the Akali-BJP alliance would return impressive figures.

Analysts also pointed out that the results should come as a lesson for the State unit of the BJP as well. Instead of making “baseless” claims about its growing support base in the countryside, the party must realise the importance of keeping the Akali Dal as an ally. The BJP performed well only at places where it had the support of the Akalis but failed to even open an account when the party fielded its candidates against the Akalis.

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