New Delhi: The Congress is upbeat over the party’s performance in the recent local body elections in AAP-ruled Punjab where around 50 to 60 per cent of candidates backed by the grand old party were elected as Sarpanch.
This was the second boost for the Congress after winning seven out of 13 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The AAP which was in power could win only three parliamentary seats. The next challenge for the opposition party is the four assembly by-polls in the northern state on November 13 for which groundwork has already started.
"We will soon announce the candidates for the four assembly by-polls. We had started work on the seats earlier. The results of the local body elections are encouraging and show that the Congress is all over the rural parts of the state. The candidates supported by us did well despite several attempts by the ruling AAP to rig the polls," All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Punjab Devender Yadav told ETV Bharat.
The AAP announced candidates on the four by-poll seats Gidderbaha, Chabbewal (SC), Barnala and Dera Baba Nanak on October 20.
The by-polls are being held as the local MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. Congress state unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who was an MLA from Gidderbaha won the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat.
Raj Kumar Chabbewal, an ex-Congress who joined the AAP, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur. AICC functionary Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who was MLA from Dera Baba Nanak seat won the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, AAP MLA from Barnala, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Sangrur.
The coming by-polls are being seen as a test for both the ruling and as well as the main opposition parties. While the Congress is trying hard to retain the three seats it held earlier, the AAP is trying to win all four seats.
"I recently reviewed the strategy for the coming by-polls along with senior state leaders," said Yadav. "Despite manipulations in the Panchayat elections, Congress-backed Sarpanches secured victories in 50-60 per cent of villages across Punjab. The people have sent a clear message, rejecting AAP's false promises. This shows that Congress is the true future of Punjab, ready to lead with real governance and progress,” Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh told ETV Bharat.
"(Punjab) Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has always fed lies to the people. They promised that teachers would focus on teaching, not poll duties, but have backtracked yet again — now risking their lives. Teachers were pelted with stones, intimidated, and injured during panchayat polls. Where is the 'peaceful election' they promised? The safety of our educators has been utterly disregarded. This is a government built on false promises and failures," he said.
CLP leader Partap Singh Bajwa, who had earlier informed the Election Commission about the chances of malpractices in panchayat polls by the ruling party, has now urged the poll body to postpone the four assembly byelections on November 13 as they coincide with the Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary celebrated across the state with fervour.
"This will ensure that people can observe their religious duties and participate fully in the democratic process," Bajwa told ETV Bharat.
