Lack of coordination among Senior Punjab leaders costs Congress Jalandhar bypoll

Jalandhar: The Congress party has finished third in the by-election for the Jalandhar West assembly constituency. Internal discord among senior Punjab leaders, including Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Jalandhar Lok Sabha MP Charanjit Singh Channi, and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, is cited as a major reason for the party’s poor performance.

In just 38 days, Congress lost over 27,000 votes. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the party secured more than 44,000 votes, but in the by-election results on July 14, it failed to cross the 20,000 mark. While Charanjit Singh Channi was the candidate during the Lok Sabha elections, Surinder Kaur contested the by-election.

Congress leaders misjudged the changing public sentiment, slipping from first place in the Lok Sabha elections to third place in the by-election. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had finished third in the Lok Sabha elections, secured a resounding victory in the by-election.

The weakening of the Congress campaign was evident from the announcement of the by-election. Key leaders like Raja Warring, Partap Singh Bajwa, and Charanjit Singh Channi were notably absent from the campaign. Despite 21 contenders initially vying for the ticket, the party settled on former senior deputy mayor Surinder Kaur, leading to discontent among other leaders, some of whom left the party.

Allegations against Surinder Kaur, such as not attending her office during her tenure as senior deputy mayor, were raised by the opposition. However, senior Congress leaders failed to address these issues. The delayed announcement of the ticket further hampered the party’s campaign efforts.

Ultimately, the aggressive campaign led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann overshadowed the divided and lackluster efforts of the Congress leadership. This lack of coordination and effective campaigning significantly contributed to their defeat in the Jalandhar West by-election.