Modi narrative hasn't helped Punjab BJP come out of Akalis' shadow

Chandigarh, June 24 (IANS) With the Congress leadership yet to re-emerge from its own shadows, first after losing the state to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and later its traditional parliamentary bastion, the BJP, which always played second fiddle in the state politics, seems to be banking largely on the grand old party's deserters besides building on Modi's narrative to strengthen its base.

To create a statewide niche for itself, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying hard to establish itself outside the shadow of its once ally -- the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

In a border state, where the Hindus are in a minority, there has never been a BJP-led government unlike in neighbouring Haryana, where the party is now in power for the second consecutive term, and Himachal Pradesh.

In all previous parliamentary polls, the BJP was given three Lok Sabha seats to contest in Punjab by the Akalis out of the state's 13. Its tally in both the 2019 and 2014 polls was two.

Despite its differences with the Akalis, which ruled the state for two consecutive terms from 2007 to 2017, the BJP was compelled to partner with it for its own survival.

But BJP leaders always refused to admit officially that their party was forced to be in the shadow of the regional force.

Now after the mass exodus of leaders, comprising loyal and veteran lawmakers like two-time chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and the state's prominent Hindu face Sunil Jakhar, the weakened Congress is struggling for revival.

In a legislative House of 117, the Congress in Punjab, which won 77 seats in 2017, managed to win only 18 in March 2022 with most of its stalwart faces like former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi and then state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu facing humiliating defeats in their strongholds.

The BJP, which had won three seats in 2017 when it had contested in alliance with the Akalis, secured only two seats in 2022, while the SAD won four and the others won one.

Political observers told IANS that currently the 'tug of war' is largely between the BJP and the AAP, not the saffron party and its previous partner the Akalis.

State BJP president and legislator Ashwani Sharma has been blaming the Bhagwant Mann-led government for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

Also he's questioning the government for diverting the Centre's rural development fund to repay its debts and for misuse of the National Health Mission funds.

The BJP, which boycotted the just concluded two-day special assembly session, blamed the government for "wasting taxpayers' money" by calling the session.

Launching the state election campaign from Pathankot town, Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah on June 18 asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, "Is he a Chief Minister or a pilot?", saying the state's law and order situation went "from bad to worse as CM Mann spends all his time touring with Arvind Kejriwal."

He also questioned the state government over its poll "guarantee" of giving Rs 1,000 per month to every adult woman.

The Home Minister was outlining the nine-year achievements of the Modi government at the Centre.

Saying that the AAP is an advertisement party, Shah, whose 20-minute address was focused mainly on attacking the AAP, slammed the helm as law and order and drugs emerge as key challenges for the state government.

Soon after Shah's announcement to open a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Amritsar, AAP national convener Kejriwal responded by saying it was nothing but an attempt by the BJP to "misuse" the NCB office for the saffron party's political gains.

Besides Shah, many top central leaders of the BJP including J.P. Nadda have started touring Punjab on the pretext of celebrating nine years of the party's rule.

However, the only person in the state who is holding the fort against the ruling dispensation is Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who has time and again been rapping the state authorities on their knuckles over lack of accountability.

In the latest war of words between Purohit and Mann, the former hit back at the latter on the official use of a government helicopter, saying he would not use it.

"I have been given a helicopter. I used it for official duty and not for personal use and visited the border area in which Punjab officials also accompanied me. Now, I have announced that as long as I am in Punjab, I will not use the Punjab government's helicopter," Purohit said on June 21.

Justifying his decision, Purohit said that the Chief Minister mocked him in the Assembly and said that the governor "is writing so many love letters."

Purohit's strong reaction came a day after the Assembly unanimously passed the Punjab University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, vesting the powers of the Chancellor of state universities with the Chief Minister.

Launching a scathing attack on the Governor, Mann, while speaking in the Assembly, described the Governor as an agent of the Centre deployed specially to trouble him.

"The governor has nothing better to do except write him love letters," Mann, who misses no opportunity to remind the Governor that he took an oath to protect the Constitution and not allow violation of the rules, said.

Despite the narrative set for the BJP with its Brand Modi once again in 2024, political analysts feel that the BJP still needs time to build solo inroads to the grassroots.

With the local leaders adopting a tougher posture against the AAP government, an analyst told IANS that for the BJP it is time to realign with the Akali Dal by dictating its own terms as with the mass exodus of leaders the fractured SAD is facing its worst crisis "structurally, organisationally, and even in terms of ideological leadership."

Speculation of a future alliance became rife with the top BJP leadership ranging from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Amit Shah to J.P. Nadda visiting Punjab to offer condolences at the demise of Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal in April.

Snapping the over two-decade long ties, the Akali Dal pulled out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2020 after sharp differences emerged over the three controversial farm laws, now repealed.

However, several BJP top leaders, including Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, are not in favour of a future alliance.

"I would like to welcome all Akali leaders who want to join the BJP and contest the elections on our symbol," Puri said recently.

Responding diplomatically, SAD leader Daljit Cheema told the media there were no elections due immediately and "decisions on forging an alliance are generally taken during the elections."

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at [email protected])