Congress has had to grapple with serious infighting within the Punjab unit over the past few years
October 15 turned out to be a good day for the Congress party and its allies. With a thumping win in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab and a significant victory for its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League, in the Kerala assembly constituency Vengara, the grand old party has reiterated the signs of resurgence it has shown in the past few months.
At the same time, the results are the product of political dynamics in the two states rather than a harbinger of change at the national level.
The Congress may take heart from the fact that it wrested Gurdaspur from the BJP after being defeated in 2014. The seat had fallen vacant after the death in April this year of actor Vinod Khanna, who had won on a BJP ticket in 2014. While ruling parties at the state level usually win by-elections, the margin with which the Congress won this time – 1,93,219 votes more than the nearest opponent, the BJP candidate – suggests a stronger grip across Punjab after Amarinder Singh steered the party to a comfortable victory in the assembly elections earlier this year.
The win also means that Singh has emerged as the undisputed leader of the state. The party has had to grapple with serious infighting within the Punjab unit over the past few years. The two poles of this internal conflict – which was often fought in the open – were represented by Singh and Pratap Singh Bajwa, who has represented Gurdaspur both as an MP and MLA many times before.
However, the central leadership of the party decided to hand over the reins to Singh and he proved his mettle in the 2017 assembly poll. The by-poll in Gurdaspur assumes significance in this context as Sunil Jakhar, an old hand in Punjab politics, current state unit party president and a trusted aid of Singh, was fielded as the Congress candidate.
The choice of Jakhar, who belongs to Fazilka district and has been representing the Abohar assembly seat for years, was met with great hostility from the Bajwa camp. But the party’s unprecedented victory means that Bajwa will have to settle for a secondary role for the moment....READ MORE
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