Patiala: Farmer protests at Shambhu led to Preneet Kaur’s undoing
Mohit Khanna
Patiala, June 4
Preneet Kaur’s inability to properly judge the impact of farmer protests at the Shambhu border or recognise the agitation as having the backing of Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party are the real reasons behind her loss by 16,618 votes to Congress candidate Dharamvira Gandhi from Patiala. The Moti Bagh Palace, which was the hub of power politics in the state during the tenure of her husband and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, wore a deserted look today.
It was not easy ride for the 80-year-old former Union Minister from the Congress party, who was forced to battle intense farmer protests since she switched from the Congress to the BJP in March. So much so that she had to abandon her campaign for over two days when a protesting farmer died in Sehri village near Rajpura.
But she fought a splendid fight, considering Amarinder Singh was absent due to an illness in Delhi — he had in the past been a force to be reckoned with. It was PM Modi’s rally in Patiala on May 23 which galvanised her chances. Party insiders said that the PM rally began the tilt of the scales in her favour, leading to jitters in the Opposition. They said Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi soon hot-footed to Patiala, holding two separate rallies “to neutralise the impact of the PM’s visit.”
According to BJP urban president Sanjiv Sharma Bittu said, “the PM’s rally gave Kaur’s campaign a much-needed lift a few days before the elections.” Moreover, BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal said, the absence of a level playing field was another reason. “It was the first time in almost three decades that the BJP had fielded its candidate from Patiala Lok Sabha constituency, and the party did not have a cadre base in the rural areas. The protesting farmers did not allow us to level the playing field,” he said.
So Preneet Kaur decided to approach her campaign differently. Rather than seeking to appease farmers angry with the BJP, Preneet focused on garnering support from farm labourers and Dalits in rural areas, as well as relying on the solid base of Hindu voters in the city as well as in Dera Bassi.
