Changed clan equations complicate political math
GURDASPUR: For the first time, Qadian constituency in Gurdaspur district is most likely to see a triangular contest among Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Akali Dal. The most prominent among the contestants is Congress’ Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa, who bagged the ticket even as his younger brother Fatehjang Singh happens to the party’s sitting MLA from here. Partap Bajwa’s wife Charanjit Kaur represented the seat as a Congress MLA in 2012. Fatehjang has switched to the BJP since.
The segment is a mix of suburban and rural areas. Dhariwal, Qadian and Kahnuwan towns are considered strongholds of the Bajwas. Of the total 10 assembly elections held since 1972, Bajwas have won five. A considerable area of the erstwhile Kahnuwan assembly constituency that was represented by Partap Bajwa thrice was merged into Qadian in the 2007 delimitation.
Bajwa is pitted against AAP’s Jagroop Singh Sekhwan and the Shiromani Akali Dal’s Guriqbal Singh Mahal, and Johar Singh of SAD Sanyukt who has been an MLA from Kahnuwan and has noticeable following in the area.
After the denial of ticket, Bajwa’s younger brother Fatehjang joined the BJP and is fighting from the adjoining Batala seat. To what extent the bad blood between Bajwa siblings will affect the poll outcome will be known only in the days to come, but the siblings have smartly succeeded in avoiding a direct clash.
There is resentment among the people over the lack of development during the current Congress dispensation. The segment, which is the world-famous centre of Ahmadiyya Muslim community, lacks basic amenities such as sewerage and quality medical services. There are no employment avenues for the youth and even the famous woollen mills established by the Britishers at Dhariwal are shut now.
Drug menace is another issue that is being raised by the AAP and SAD candidates to corner Congress. The rival candidates accuse Partap Bajwa of doing nothing to revive the Dhariwal mills being in Parliament.
Bajwa, on the other hand, is promising to set up new industrial units without mention of the woollen mills in his meetings with voters.
“Bajwa’s opposition is as big as his political stature as he brought nothing for the constituency as a parliamentarian. He is being received coldly by the people on his return from Delhi after 13 years. People will vote for change, which is the AAP,” said Sekhwan, whose father, Akali stalwart late Sewa Singh Sekhwan, had represented Kahnuwan twice.
He sees this contest as a continuation of the traditional rivalry between Bajwas and Sekhwans. “First my grandson Ujagar Singh Sekhwan defeated Bajwa’s father Satnam Singh Bajwa twice, then my father defeated Bajwa once and now it’s my turn to trounce him,” added Sekhwan, who still has a good following among the SAD supporters.
On the other hand, SAD’s Mahal has been active for four years and recently organised an impressive rally that was addressed by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Poll observers find him an equally influential contender.
However, Bajwa negates the competition to him from the AAP or the SAD. “I will get more votes than the total votes of the rivals,” said Bajwa, who is also the chairman of Congress’ election manifesto committee for Punjab. Though Sikhs are in majority in the segment, there is a substantial Hindu population. Qadian town has a sizeable number of Muslims, while Dhariwal has a concentrated Christian population.