Chandigarh: With the Congress party pitching Chief Minister Charanjit Channi, a Dalit candidate, to woo voters in upcoming Punjab Assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also hinting about Scheduled Caste CM, while Akali Dal formed an alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and promised to appoint a Deputy CM from SC/ST community if they win elections. Apart from caste arithmetics, the political parties are also trying to lure Hindus and Sikhs to form government in the state.
Unlike last assembly elections in 2017, when Congress was able to form the government with the help of Dalits, non-Dalits, OBC, and Sikhs votes. The voters are polarized this time on a caste basis and all political parties are meticulously picking candidates based on their caste to woo voters of respective castes, say experts.
Beginning with the Congress party which played a new bet by making a Dalit CM, Charanjit Channi, after getting into a dispute with Amarinder Singh. Sukhjinder Randhawa, a Jat Sikh, and OP Soni, a Hindu face were both made Deputy CM. Meanwhile, Jat Sikh Navjot Singh Sidhu was made the state president of Congress. Congress made all kinds of efforts to settle the caste and religion-based issues.
Followed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which formed an alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). SAD President Sukhbir Badal had said that if the alliance comes to power, then along with the Sikh Chief Minister, Hindu, and Scheduled Caste Deputy Chief Ministers would also be made.
Similarly, although the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made Bhagwant Mann a CM face, the party has also given the role of Leader of Opposition to Harpal Cheema who belongs to the Scheduled Caste.
Consequently, BJP has also hinted about Scheduled Caste CM after winning elections.
The parties tried to settle the caste equations but the cases of sacrilege came to the fore in the recent past, even though the issue of sacrilege has already been there in the state. Congress could not do much on the issue during its five-year rule and it arose again when a man tried to commit sacrilege at the Golden Temple, Amritsar and a similar incident happened at Devi temple in Patiala. In both, incidents Sikh and Hindu communities were involved, which seems to indicate polarization.
According to the figures of the year 2012, the total population of Punjab is more than 2.80 crore among which Sikhs constitute about 58 percent of the population. the Hindu population is more than 38 percent. Interestingly, about 33 percent of the population belongs to the SC community, in which there are both Sikhs and Hindus. Christians are 1.3 percent and others are from Jains, Buddhists, and other religions. Sikhs are in majority in 18 out of 22 districts of the state.
Gurmeet Singh, professor of political affairs, says, "the issue of lapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security dominated not only the state but also the politics of the country for a long time. An attempt was also made to connect it with the sentiments of Hindus because of this matter, the BJP was somewhat successful in getting the support of the Hindus. Still, it is difficult to say how much it will benefit in votes. All political parties can try to take advantage of the kind of situation that is being created in the state. Caste equations have also become key in this polls."
Meanwhile, political analyst Sukhbir Bajwa says, "If we look at the current political situation of Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal is contesting an alliance with a new partner BSP. Whereas, BJP, an old ally of Shiromani Akali Dal, is in the electoral fray with Punjab Lok Congress and Samyukta Akali Dal in the role of the elder brother. Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and Farmers' Parties are contesting individually. Therefore, the margin of victory will also be less; hence the need for caste arithmetics is being felt by all the parties, which has never happened before."
While Gurmeet Singh adds, 'More players are going make the elections bit tough this time since it could lead to split in the vote hence the atmosphere in the political arena is heated up in the state," he adds. He says that a few alleged sacrilege incidents could also impact the election outcome and added, "Patiala is a key center of Punjab politics and Malwa is an important part of the region therefore, the matter of sacrilege in the temple of Kali Devi becomes bigger. Former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh himself comes from the region and most of the CM faces of the state have also been from the Malwa region. There are 15 districts in the Malwa region, in which there are 69 assembly seats, such incidents are sure to have an impact on voters of a large area."
Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face and MP Bhagwant Mann had said, "All the political parties are trying to mar the atmosphere of Punjab and break the brotherhood among the people of Punjab but that will not happen. The incidents of sacrilege happened in Punjab because of the mistakes of the previous government. The mastermind of these incidents is sitting somewhere else and carrying out his acts."
While Shiromani Akali Dal President and former Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is putting the Congress in the dock, "Till now, the culprits of the sacrilege incidents under the Congress government have not even been caught. The conspiracy to spoil the atmosphere in the elections is an old strategy."
Amidst all this, BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma says that the party condemns such cases. The party demands from the government to put the accused behind the bars at the earliest. He also says that some people want to spoil the mutual brotherhood and peace of Punjab.
