Civic polls to be ‘game changer’, will signal Cong return: Rana KP

The main Opposition Congress sees the December 21 civic polls as a game changer and hopes that it will set the tone for the party’s comeback in the 2027 Assembly elections in the state.

Though politically opposed, the party has said a strong Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is in the interest of Punjab and the Punjabis.

“The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has failed to deliver, the SAD is on the verge of extinction, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to gain ground in Punjab,” said Rana Kanwar Pal Singh, chairman of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Campaign and Screening Committees.

In an exclusive interview with The Tribune here today, the former Assembly Speaker said the upcoming municipal elections would prove to be a game changer and set the tone for the Congress’ return in the next Assembly elections.

“The people of Punjab are looking forward to the Congress to take the lead, as they are completely disillusioned with all other parties,” the grand old party’s heavyweight said, while observing that there was a lot of anti-incumbency across the state. “They (AAP leaders) have not come up to the expectations of people,” he said, adding, “People had voted them to power with great expectations as they had felt disillusioned with the traditional parties in 2022.”

The Congress stalwart alleged that the AAP government had proved to be utter disappointment, partly because they were inexperienced and partly because “they did not have any will to learn”. He said the AAP leaders were themselves admitting that they had been taken for a ride by the bureaucracy, which was mainly because of inexperience.

On the developments taking place within the SAD, Rana pointed out that it was the second oldest political party in the country. “It has a history of struggle and sacrifice for the freedom of the country and watching and safeguarding the interests of Punjab,” he observed, while adding, “We may be politically opposed to them (SAD), but it is a fact that a strong Akali Dal is in the interest of Punjab and the Punjabis and in any case in a democracy we do need a strong opposition.”

However, he added, right now, the SAD was in the process of churning and it was too early to conclude which turn the events would take. “But one thing is sure”, he asserted with confidence that the Akalis were not in a position right now to replace the AAP, even if they realign with the BJP at some point of time in future.

“The only party that is in a strong position to replace the AAP right now is the Congress and we are confident that we will do that and the process will begin with the MC elections,” he claimed.

Asked about the reason for such great optimism and confidence, Rana referred to the 2024 parliamentary election results and pointed out that the Congress had won Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Amritsar seats and had done very well in Bathinda urban areas. “We have no reason to believe that this performance will not be repeated,” he said.

About the resurgence of the BJP in urban areas, particularly in Ludhiana, as the party took massive lead in five of the six urban Assembly segments in the recently held general elections, the Congress stalwart reasoned that the Lok Sabha elections and municipal elections were fought on different premises. “Issues are different, aims are different and the candidates are different,” he said, adding, “The Congress, unlike the BJP, is deeply rooted in Punjab’s ethos and among the Punjabis. “The BJP right now is no match for the Congress and you will notice it in the municipal elections in a week’s time only,” he remarked.