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In-fighting makes a mess of Punjab politics

Neena Chaudhary in Chandigarh

After the recent Lok Sabha election, politics in Punjab has undergone a significant change. Major parties appear to be in a state of flux. Like in Delhi, the dilution of ideology has resulted in the quest for power gaining centre stage.

Present trends indicate that intra-party struggle has replaced inter-party competition, throwing up new issues before the people. Race among various Congress factions seems to have gained momentum, because the party's chances of returning to power have brightened.

The Lok Sabha poll exposed the weakness of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP alliance, which was considered invincible even by senior Congress leaders. The ruling combine was reduced to just three seats from a total of 13. The combine also lost the lone seat of Chandigarh. That Union Territory had returned a BJP candidate twice, in 1996 and 1998.

In the previous poll, the combine's candidates had won 11 seats. It also ensured the victory of then prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral and successfully supported Satnam Singh Kainth, who headed a breakaway group of the Bahujan Samaj Party.

The SAD has always been plagued by factionalism. The Akalis fail to defend the charge that all their governments fell due to factionalism. The party has faced a revitalised round of factional feud in the post election period.

SAD president and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was "forced" to suspend one of his former aides, Ravi Inder Singh, for breaching party discipline. Meanwhile, the induction of Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet has annoyed the faction led by former Union Minister Surjit Singh Barnala.

The post election period was also significant as Badal's authority stood eroded considerably. For the first time since the restoration of peace in the state, he also faced a challenge to his position.

The significant spurt in SAD infighting in recent times contributed much to compelling Badal to expand his ministry. Though he explains away the expansion as a need to deal with the increased workload, it is clear that Badal, through co-option of certain disgruntled elements, has attempted to check the ranks of the dissidents and rival Akali groups from gathering more support.

While Badal now heads a 41-member council of ministers in the 117-member Punjab assembly, the SAD technically has 73 members and its ally the BJP, 18. The 10 legislators including five former ministers, who are close to the faction led by G S Tohra, the "expelled" Prem Singh Lalpura and "suspended" Ravi Inder Singh, are still part of the SAD's legislative wing.

Interestingly, while expansion was being considered to be Badal's need of the hour to defend himself from renewed attacks by his detractors, the exercise of inducting new ministers exposed the fissures in the BJP, which had maintained its monolith exterior so far.

Two of its senior legislators, Jagdish Sahni and Satpal Gosain, who could not be accommodated, have revolted, levelling serious charges against the party leader in the assembly and Cabinet Minister Balramji Das Tandon.

The problem with the BJP's Punjab unit is that despite sharing power in the state for almost three year, it has not been able to establish a leadership of merit in the state. The party also lacks a clear agenda to keep their support base intact.

In the absence of a capable leader, the party also failed to undertake proper introspection into the causes of defeat in the recent Lok Sabha election. Analysts attribute the BJP's poor performance to the neglect of the needs of urban voters, especially those from the Hindu community, who drifted away due to the projected "pro-rural" tilt in the SAD-BJP alliance.

For its part, the main opposition party, the Congress is not far behind. Many in the Congress have come to believe that the party's return to power is not far off.

Unlike in the rest of the country, the Congress put up a spectacular show in the Lok Sabha poll. Its candidates wrested eight seats from the ruling combine and its alliance partner, the CPI, won another one from Bathinda.

With the disenchantment growing among the people regarding the functioning of the present government, the impressive performance of the party kindled hopes among its different leaders. Many have initiated moves to dislodge the chief of the state unit, Captain Amarinder Singh, as soon as election is announced. Election is due in February 2002.

A general secretary of the Congress state unit, Bir Devinder Singh, openly criticised Capt Singh for demanding that financial emergency be declared in the state. He also accused the scion of the Patiala royal family of harbouring terrorists and attempting to sabotage the Congress by inducting his former colleagues from the Akali Dal.

Bir Devinder Singh was suspended from the primary membership of the party. Meanwhile, various groups including those led by former chief ministers Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Harcharan Singh Brar, former president of the state unit Santokh Singh Randhawa, parliamentarian Jagmeet Singh Brar and former Union minister Buta Singh have been flexing their muscles, making preparations for the "grand day".

Political observers say that the most dangerous aspect of such an activity is that fringe elements and fundamentalist forces would gain more space for operations and become more relevant to the common man. They fear that if the political leaders do not re-orient their strategies, Punjab would head towards the scenario that existed on the eve of the outbreak of terrorism.

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