As expected, the former Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh has severed all links with the Congress after accusing the Interim president, Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi siblings of hatching a midnight conspiracy to oust him. His resignation from the grand old party has been accepted, clearing the decks for a battle royale in the border state, where with the help of the BJP and Akali splinter groups, the Captain is aiming to push the incumbent government out of power. That appears to be the case, and as of now, Amarinder is more eager to hurt the Congress, than being serious about winning the Assembly polls, slated for early next year. His chances would largely depend on his ability to make the BJP government at the Centre, to take back the Farm laws which have led to a social unrest in the state, and the agitation has continued for one year despite all efforts by certain sections, to describe the peasants as anti-national.
If the farmers do not side with Amarinder, it is clear that his Punjab Lok Congress, would be a non-starter. As it is, no known Congress figure from the state has so far provided any indication about joining the former Chief Minister. The irony is that even his wife, Parneet Kaur, the sitting Lok Sabha MP from Patiala, is reluctant to switch sides since she sees a brighter future for herself with the Congress. The problem is that the BJP is extremely unpopular in Punjab and its leaders have been experiencing social boycott ever since the farmers’ agitation commenced. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to imagine that the Saffron brigade, even if spearheaded in its effort by an experienced leader like Amarinder, would make any dent in the 23 Hindu dominated seats.
It is a marginal player on its own and does not have the capacity to field candidates in all the 117 seats of the Assembly. In the past three elections, it was aligned with the Shiromani Akali Dal and this coalition had helped it immensely to establish its presence in these seats, other than the rest of the State as the principal ally of the Akalis. The Captain, also would find it hard to field candidates in all the seats and unless, those who are denied tickets by the Congress gravitate towards him, his problems are only going to multiply. Punjab is a complex state and even though the Captain enjoys a Nationalist image, his ability to carry his potential partners to victory seems implausible at this juncture.
The unfortunate part of politics is that it has led to personal attacks being made by various leaders. After the Captain picked on his bête noire, Navjot Singh Sidhu in his resignation letter, the erstwhile cricketer has also been unsparing in his criticism and has used extremely pedestrian language, unbecoming of any leader, to have a dig at the former CM. In the battle of Sardars, this kind of ugly confrontation is not going to end soon. In the Congress versus Captain fight, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is emerging as the biggest beneficiary. The Shriomani Akali Dal is also watching the developments and Sukhbir Badal, the crafty politician, would make his moves swiftly once the model code of conduct comes into play. The Congress because of flip flops of its leaders, is needlessly harming itself and hurting its chances. The Punjab saga has many more chapters that shall be written before the conclusion when the results are declared.