New Delhi, January 23
Despite the veneer of emerging victors being displayed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its main Congress rival, there is apprehension in both the camps that the outcome of next month’s Assembly elections might leave them tantalisingly short of a majority.

This is manifesting itself increasingly because of widespread discontent at various levels in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and the SAD following the distribution of the party ticket.

The present calculation of the Congress is understood to be 58 seats and the party is working in enlarging that kitty so that the critical arithmetic of a simple majority in the 117-member Assembly is not elusive. Interestingly, party strategists appeared to have scaled down their pre-ticket distribution tally of 70-75 seats necessitated by the changing ground realities.

Mr Badal’s SAD is not fooling itself of the difficult task ahead considering the anti-incumbency factor. It is putting all its might in 60-70 carefully selected seats in the hope of bridging the gap to the maximum extent possible when it comes to the crunch.

Compared to the ruling SAD in Punjab, the Congress high command finds itself compelled to undertake a delicate balancing act in the hope of cooling frayed tempers. The shrill demands of Punjab Congress men, claiming to be die hard loyalists, that there should be no truck with the CPI has come unstuck.

Discriminating Congress leaders, who had no doubt a month back predicted their party’s runaway victory and regaining power in Punjab because of widespread disillusionment with the Badal government, are now a trifle circumspect. They are currently talking in hushed tones of the possibility of a hung Assembly and the Congress emerging as the single largest party.

The reasons are not far to discern as a considerable number of dissidents can be in the fray leading to multi-cornered contests which observers believe might have an adverse impact on the Congress.