Sukhbir in fray, Akalis go full throttle in Ferozepur
SAD nominee and his family members holding dozens of ‘nukkar’ meetings daily to ensure they reach out to maximum voters
With just three days left for voting in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has intensified its campaign in the high-stake Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency from where party president Sukhbir Singh Badal is contesting.
Sukhbir is facing is his old party associate and sitting MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, who joined the Congress recently, and the main contest is between the two.
In the golden hours of canvassing, Sukhbir, an MLA from the Jalalabad which is part of the Ferozepur Lok Sabha constituency, and his family members are holding dozens of ‘nukkar’ meetings daily to ensure they reach out to maximum voters, a party leader said.
Early this week, the SAD chief managed to get support of fivetime MLA from Ferozepur (urban) seat and former Congress minister Bal Mukand Sharma, a move that may yield electoral dividends to the party which has been in the throes of one after another crisis in the past one year.
The Akali nominee is claiming development works in the region initiated by the previous SADBJP government.
RULING PARTY’S SACRILEGE PLANK
Since the Congress has made sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib during the SAD-BJP regime in 2015 a hot political issue, the Akalis were overcautious while fielding candidates.
The Congress claims to have an edge in the constituency, which comprises nine assembly segments of Ferozepur (city), Ferozepur (rural), Guru Har Sahai, Jalalabad, Fazilka, Abohar, Balluana, Malout and Muktsar, as Ghubaya represented it for two consecutive terms.
Even as Congress leaders from the constituency repeatedly expressed their reservation over fielding a turncoat, chief minister Amarinder Singh is of the view that dissent will not impact the party’s poll prospects.
“Initially, Ghubaya’s candidature was not liked many of our leaders. He was picked by the party high command and I am confident that we together will make him win against Sukhbir Badal,” CM told Hindustan Times in a recent interview.
CASTE FACTOR AT PLAY
Political pundits say caste will play an important factor in the constituency.
“Ferozepur has a distinct combination of castes and communities with the Rai Sikhs having a sizeable number of votes. The community remains an important factor in any election. It has an estimated 3 lakh voters and their polling percentage remains quite high. Ghubaya, a Rai Sikh, is trying hard to mobilise support from the community,” said an observer.
“In the last assembly elections, the Akalis suffered a humiliating defeat in their stronghold of Malwa belt at the hands of the rookie Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Ferozepur seat has been a SAD citadel for 25 years and Sukhbir is himself contesting from the seat to maintain political relevance of the party,” said a political analyst.
Besides the lack of full support from veteran political leaders in the area, Ghubaya is also battling anti-incumbency.
“For the last 10 years, Ghubaya led his supporters as an Akali Dal leader. It is difficult for the Congress leaders to motivate their supporters to vote for him. Sensing the core electoral issue, Ghubaya is focusing on his community to garner votes and it is to be seen whether he succeeds or not,” said a Congress leader from Abohar.