SNE NETWORK.CHANDIGARH.
Rahul Gandhi’s second rally in the Malwa region in eight months has special political significance. This time, after Barnala, the rally will be held in Sangrur. While the previous rally focused on farmers and laborers, this time Rahul is arriving to sound the bugle for the upcoming assembly elections.
The choice of the Malwa region for both rallies is part of Congress’s specific election strategy. The Congress is focusing heavily on regaining lost political ground in Malwa, as the party’s performance in this belt was extremely poor in 2022.
In fact, Malwa, spread across 15 districts, is Punjab’s largest region. It includes Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Moga, Faridkot, Muktsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Mohali, and Malerkotla.
In the 2022 assembly elections, Congress suffered the most losses in the Malwa region, which comprises 69 out of 117 seats. This was the party’s worst performance in the last five assembly elections. Data from the 1997 to 2022 assembly elections shows that Congress won nine seats in the Malwa region in the 1997 elections, 29 in 2002, and 37 in 2007. In 2012, the party won 31 seats. In 2017, Congress made a spectacular comeback, winning 40 out of 69 seats, but in 2022, its tally dropped to just two, losing one seat in a by-election.
The biggest reason for this defeat was internal strife within the party. The conflict between then-Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and State Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, the confusion over the chief ministerial face, factionalism among leaders, and organizational weakness all contributed to the party’s losses.
Before the elections, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who hails from the Malwa region, left the Congress party. Meanwhile, Bhagwant Mann, also from the same region, was declared the Chief Ministerial candidate by the Aam Aadmi Party. These dynamics weakened the Congress’s political standing in Malwa.
The Congress leadership understands that the political wave emanating from Malwa influences the political mood across Punjab. Therefore, after Barnala, Rahul Gandhi will now attempt to create a favorable electoral environment for the party in Sangrur. Since Sangrur is Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district, Rahul Gandhi’s rally is likely to focus primarily on the AAP government’s siege.
Rahul Gandhi may raise these issues
At the Sangrur rally, Rahul Gandhi is expected to raise various issues from the stage to corner the AAP government. These could include the drug trade and drug-related deaths in Punjab, corruption, deteriorating law and order, gangsterism, insecurity among businessmen, and the problems of farmers.
A test for the new Chief and In-Charge
This rally by Rahul Gandhi is like an election rally in the run-up to the state assembly elections. It also poses a test for the new Chief In-Charge of the state, Sachin Pilot, and State Congress President Pargat Singh. Punjab Congress leaders, who have been grappling with factionalism for the past four months, are now seen together on one platform.
Whether they are in solidarity or not, they are seen shaking hands. Maintaining this unity while returning Congress to power in the state will be a major challenge for the Chief and In-Charge. At the Barnala rally, Rahul Gandhi delivered a strong message of unity to senior Congress leaders, but a different picture is expected on the stage at the Sangrur rally.###USA###CANADA###UK###PUNJAB###SANGRUR###CONGRESS###RAHUL###GANDHI###AICC###PPCC###AUSTRALIA###NEWZEALAND###GERMANY###ITLAY###FRANCE###SPAIN###