Punjab Congress entangled in its own statements before the elections, may lose its vote bank

According to political experts, Congress Party is in a strong position in Punjab. After losing in the 2022 elections, the party pulled itself together and single-handedly won 7 out of 13 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaving behind Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali, but these days in Punjab, Congress is trapped in the rhetoric of its own leaders.

There was conflict in Punjab Congress even before the 2022 elections and once again this weakness of the Congress is coming to the fore before the 2027 elections. Instead of attacking the government, Congress seems to be buried under the burden of its own rhetoric. The confrontation and rhetoric of senior party leaders has raised questions on the policy and political direction of the Congress Party.

Also read: BJP is trying to establish its foothold in Punjab on the pretext of Haryana model, will the public give a chance?

Pratap Singh Bajwa’s opposition

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa is on the target of Aam Aadmi Party these days. He had given a controversial statement on Punjab Government Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. Attacking the Punjab government and Aam Aadmi Party on the issue of corruption, Pratap Singh Bajwa had said that Harbhajan Singh ETO has looted Punjab. Further he said that Harbhajan Singh used to play in the band earlier and now we will play in his band.

Aam Aadmi Party opposed this statement of Bajwa. Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO sharply retaliated on this statement of Tap Singh Bajwa. He said that band players also have every right to educate and educate their children. He further said that this statement is the anger of the Congress and the Dalit community will answer for it in the 2027 elections.

AAP demonstrated

AAP protested against Pratap Singh Bajwa in Chandigarh on Monday 9 January. AAP workers started marching from the MLA hostel towards the Chandigarh residence of Pratap Singh Bajwa. During this, the police stopped the AAP workers using water cannon. AAP workers were protesting against Pratap Singh Bajwa with a band.

Many ministers, MLAs and senior leaders of Aam Aadmi Party participated in this protest. He accused the Congress party of being anti-Dalit. AAP termed Pratap Singh Bajwa’s remarks as casteist remarks and demanded an apology from him.

Congress upset with former Chief Minister’s statement

This is not the first statement by which Punjab Congress has been accused of being anti-Dalit. Even before this, a statement by Congress Party MP and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had troubled the Congress Party a lot. Channi had talked about giving less representation to Dalits in the Congress party. Even after this statement, the opposition parties were attacking Congress and accused it of insulting Dalits.

After this, former Chief Minister of Punjab and Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had claimed in an interview that some officers had advised to resort to bomb blasts to form her government again in Punjab. However, Rajinder Bhattal said that he reprimanded the officials in this matter but the opposition seized his statement. Apart from this, the Punjab Congress President had given a controversial statement in the recently held assembly by-election and the result was that his party had lost the election.

Also read: Why is Aam Aadmi Party going to demonstrate at Pratap Bajwa’s house with a band?

Opposition’s eye on Dalit vote bank

Many parties including Aam Aadmi Party, BJP, Akali Dal are eyeing the Dalit vote bank in Punjab. Dalits are about 32 percent in Punjab i.e. the largest voter group. Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to attract the Dalit and OBC community. For this, Haryana CM is continuously touring. On Ravidas Jayanti, PM Modi organized a program at Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Aam Aadmi Party is also trying to attract the Dalit vote bank by weaving the statements of Congress leaders. Along with this, the party can make a Dalit leader the Deputy CM of Punjab. An Indian Express report states that the AAP leadership may fulfill Arvind Kejriwal’s promise of appointing a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister in 2017. Many names have also been given in this regard quoting sources.

Alarm bells for Congress

Even though the Congress Party has left all other parties behind in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, the battle for the 2027 Assembly elections is not going to be easy for the party. The biggest challenge for the party will be to keep its leaders together. Along with this, the party is continuously suffering losses due to the statements of the party leaders. The image of the Congress party is being damaged due to the controversial statements of senior leaders like Pratap Singh Bajwa, Raja Wadding. Every party is trying to win over the Dalit vote bank, in such a situation there can be a threat to the Congress because Dalits are traditionally considered to be strong voters of the Congress party.