Heart of Punjab: BJP concerned about ‘Congressisation’ of party

Nitin Jain

As many as nine of all 13 BJP candidates who lost in the recent Lok Sabha poll performed so badly that they lost even in their home Assembly segments, an internal analysis of the party has revealed.

BJP fared worst in Congress turncoat and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu’s Payal Vidhan Sabha constituency in Ludhiana district under the Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha seat by polling the least votes (6.26 per cent).

Only four nominees of the saffron party sailed through in their own areas.

Still, the defeated Ludhiana MP Bittu’s elevation in the Modi 3.0 government seems very much a part of the BJP’s strategic outreach in Punjab, especially to pacify agitating farmers. According to Bittu himself, he is supposed to serve as a “bridge between Punjab and Delhi”.

According to BJP sources, the loss of even the two seats it won in 2019, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur, came as such a shock that the party decided to do a proper analysis so as to learn the lessons necessary to prepare for the Vidhan Sabha elections three years from now.

The saffron party is of course pinning its hopes on the unprecedented rise in its vote share to 18.5 per cent, the highest ever in Punjab in any election the BJP fought with or without an alliance partner. That three of the party candidates finished as runners-up and another six ranked third seems to be adding to their optimism.

Another fact that has come to the fore is that almost all of its candidates outperformed in the urban Assembly segments, even though agitating farmers didn’t even allow them to pitch booths in villages. Tackling farmers and reaching out to each and every household under its “Har ghar dastak” drive constitute the main thrust areas of BJP’s “Mission Punjab”.

Interestingly, it is now the turncoats, especially from the Congress, who are calling the shots in Punjab’s BJP. Veterans, who have spent their lives in the party, say ‘Congressisation’ of the BJP is complete. It is now a “Congress-yukt BJP” in Punjab. Besides Bittu, Amarinder Singh and his wife Preneet Kaur are prominent stalwarts in the party.

Of the BJP’s 13 candidates in the Lok Sabha poll, six were from the Congress, two switched sides from the Akali Dal while one was a former diplomat. The fact that the BJP failed to open its account although it banked heavily on former Congressmen calls for deep introspection, senior party leaders say.

A dearth of its own cadre forced it to give “outsiders” a “free entry” and “plum positions”, they add.

Not losing any time even as the Assembly elections are three years away, the BJP has begun to go into the circumstances that led to its poor performance in Punjab when it returned to power for the historic never-before third consecutive term in the country.

Home Minister and BJP strategist Amit Shah, along with PM Modi and party supremo JP Nadda, have held discussions on the outcome with the party’s senior leadership in New Delhi. Changes in the party setup in the state is expected.

“Instead of banking upon those who had not been loyal to their parent parties and leaders, the BJP should groom its own men and women to strengthen its base in Punjab,” quipped a senior leader.

“Congressisation of the BJP is a dangerous trend that can prove fatal for the BJP in future,” rued a party loyalist.