CHANDIGARH: Although there is no final word on possible alliance between Congress and AAP, Congress is actively involved in the process of shortlisting candidates for all seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.
Despite Congress and AAP being members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), formed against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP for the general elections, the state lea- dership of both parties vehemently opposes the idea of forging an alliance.In contrast to the stance taken by the state leadership, discussions about a potential alliance are going on at the central leadership level of both parties. According to sources, the Congress leadership has already tasked a central survey agency with selecting candidates for the elections, or, at least, providing a shortlist of suitable candidates for each constituency.
In the survey, names of three potential candidates in each constituency have been given and feedback from voters is being gathered for each of them. After the survey concludes, the party high command will examine the results. After consulting with the state leadership, candidates for each seat will be chosen, prioritising caste combinations to ensure comprehensive representation for all castes.
A senior leader shared that, based on the findings of the results, the party will also consider relocating some of the current MPs to different constituencies to counteract anti-incumbency.
To actively connect with party workers and collect their feedback, Punjab Congress in-charge Devender Yadav, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, and other senior leaders are visiting each constituency. As of now, they have covered eight seats and are likely to visit the remaining constituencies by the end of the first week of Feb.
Although AAP currently holds only one seat in the lower house, chief minister Bhagwant Mann has declared that the party aims to secure victory in all 13 seats. Meanwhile, Congress, with seven MPs, expresses confidence in putting up a strong performance.
Struggle with discipline
As the elections draw near and despite repeated directives to maintain discipline, the party seems to be facing challenges in enforcing order. Even as the ongoing tussle involving Navjot Singh Sidhu and senior leaders remains unresolved, additional instances of disunity and discord among another group of leaders, in the presence of Yadav, have surfaced in recent days, putting the party in a bad light. Noisy scenes were witnessed at Amritsar during a meeting when supporters of party MP Gurjit Singh Aujla and former deputy chief minister OP Soni raised slogans against each other.
Asimilar incident occurred during a meeting for the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency in Balachaur, where two groups of different leaders engaged in an unpleasant altercation. Likewise, Ludhiana witnessed high drama as well. Even though Yadav downplayed these incidents and asserted that there was no conflict among party leaders, a senior leader emphasised that the high command must enforce discipline. The ongoing clashes between leaders could potentially impact the party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections.
Despite Congress and AAP being members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), formed against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP for the general elections, the state lea- dership of both parties vehemently opposes the idea of forging an alliance.In contrast to the stance taken by the state leadership, discussions about a potential alliance are going on at the central leadership level of both parties. According to sources, the Congress leadership has already tasked a central survey agency with selecting candidates for the elections, or, at least, providing a shortlist of suitable candidates for each constituency.
In the survey, names of three potential candidates in each constituency have been given and feedback from voters is being gathered for each of them. After the survey concludes, the party high command will examine the results. After consulting with the state leadership, candidates for each seat will be chosen, prioritising caste combinations to ensure comprehensive representation for all castes.
A senior leader shared that, based on the findings of the results, the party will also consider relocating some of the current MPs to different constituencies to counteract anti-incumbency.
To actively connect with party workers and collect their feedback, Punjab Congress in-charge Devender Yadav, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, and other senior leaders are visiting each constituency. As of now, they have covered eight seats and are likely to visit the remaining constituencies by the end of the first week of Feb.
Although AAP currently holds only one seat in the lower house, chief minister Bhagwant Mann has declared that the party aims to secure victory in all 13 seats. Meanwhile, Congress, with seven MPs, expresses confidence in putting up a strong performance.
Struggle with discipline
As the elections draw near and despite repeated directives to maintain discipline, the party seems to be facing challenges in enforcing order. Even as the ongoing tussle involving Navjot Singh Sidhu and senior leaders remains unresolved, additional instances of disunity and discord among another group of leaders, in the presence of Yadav, have surfaced in recent days, putting the party in a bad light. Noisy scenes were witnessed at Amritsar during a meeting when supporters of party MP Gurjit Singh Aujla and former deputy chief minister OP Soni raised slogans against each other.
Asimilar incident occurred during a meeting for the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency in Balachaur, where two groups of different leaders engaged in an unpleasant altercation. Likewise, Ludhiana witnessed high drama as well. Even though Yadav downplayed these incidents and asserted that there was no conflict among party leaders, a senior leader emphasised that the high command must enforce discipline. The ongoing clashes between leaders could potentially impact the party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections.