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#Punjab2017: Congress ups the game, set to field Manpreet against Badal

Rajeev Khanna | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:51 IST

Drawing first blood in the electoral battle for Punjab, the Congress has endorsed Manpreet Badal to take on his estranged uncle, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in the latter's stronghold of Lambi.

Manpreet's is the first candidature to be announced by any party even though the Congress top brass is yet to officially stamp it. And Lambi is primed for a high-profile contest.

In the 2014 parliamentary polls, Manpreet had contested against Badal's daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur in Bathinda, only to lose narrowly.

Manpreet recently merged his People's Party of Punjab with the Congress. He had floated the party in 2011 after being sacked as the state's finance minister and expelled from the Shiromani Akali Dal. He had resigned his assembly seat to float the PPP.

Serious threat

Manpreet's falling out with the Badals had led to a vertical split in the SAD. While he has maintained the differences arose over the issue of a central debt waiver for Punjab, political observers feel it was because Sukhbir Badal, the deputy chief minister, was concerned about his cousin's growing popularity amongst the party's rank and file and saw a rival in him.

The PPP had fought the last assembly election in 2012 as part of the Sanjha Morcha comprising the CPI(M), CPI and SAD (Longowal), with Manpreet as the alliance's chief ministerial candidate. The Morcha didn't win any seat but polled about 6% of the vote.

In 2014, Manpreet contested as a Congress nominee although the two parties hadn't yet merged.

In 2014, Manpreet contested the Lok Sabha polls against Harsimrat Kaur Badal, only to lose narrowly

Though the SAD has dismissed him as a spent force, Manpreet's aggressive stand against the Akalis has made him quite popular among a section of the electorate. The Akalis, on their part, have often disparaged him as “thankless” for turning against them despite the Badal family helping him enter the assembly in 1995, 1997, 2002 and 2007 from their stronghold of Gidderbaha.

Winning hand?

Manpreet's entry into the Congress has benefited both. The Congress has found a seasoned politician who knows the inner workings of its adversary, that too one with a clean image. And Manpreet has got a broad, established platform to carry on his war against the Badals.

The state Congress chief Amarinder Singh has hailed Manpreet's decision to contest against Badal from Lambi. He said the party would not only support him but “ensure that he wins with a record margin”. The decision, Amarinder claimed, “reflects the overall positive mood within the party” and it would “further boost the morale of the rank and file”.

As if on cue, Harsimrat launched a scathing attack on Manpreet for going against his uncle, saying “he will definitely have his security forfeited if he contests from Lambi”. Punjab's voters, she claimed, had already rejected Manpreet in the Lok Sabha polls. If he still wants to contest against “the senior most politician in the country”, he should be ready for “the worst defeat of all times”.

Smart move

Political analysts though feel that fielding Manpreet against Badal could prove a “good move” on part of the Congress. “It would be interesting to watch Manpreet, who has a clean image, take on his uncle who is battling heavy anti-incumbency. The Akalis will have to muster all their resources to ensure a victory,” said political commentator Nalin Acharya. “Still, it would be wise if he contests from two seats.”

A senior journalist based in Ludhiana said, “Fielding Manpreet against Badal would send the signal that the Congress is taking the battle right to the Akalis' citadel. Since Manpreet lost narrowly in the last Lok Sabha polls, the Badals cannot take him lightly and will be forced to spend more time in their own constituency.”

Manpreet's prospects would, of course, defend on who the Aam Aadmi Party fields from this seat. Still, this is for sure: Lambi is in for a high-profile electoral showdown.

Edited by Mehraj D. Lone

First published: 10 April 2016, 12:09 IST