Senior BJP leaders and workers get isolated in party?

THE POLICY OF FREEBIES 
In the pre-poll period, the political parties and political leaders leave no stone unturned to announce series of freebies to attract the vote bank towards their side. The political parties announce their poll manifestos keeping in mind, how to woo the voters without going into the details in regard to the fiscal health of the state and the state exchequer. The state government of Punjab headed by Bhagwant Singh Mann had announced series of guarantees in the pre-poll period which paved way towards landslide victory of AAP in Punjab. Free electricity up to 300 units is free for every domestic consumer in Punjab whatever KW load at present he has been sanctioned, free travel in state government buses to the females, similarly pension scheme of Rs 1000 to females above the age of 18 years seems to be in pipeline.

CONTRACTUAL EMPLOYEES
The contract employees of the state transport department went on strike time to time to get their demands fulfilled to regularize their services and to sideline the concept of bus drivers and bus conductors from the outsource companies. Even though the private buses keep on plying on roads yet the standstill of the state government buses upsets the passengers as number of express trains have already been cancelled by the northern railway on the plea of fog. Keeping in mind the cancellation of running of few trains the rush of the passengers divert to the transport service but if the transport service also becomes paralyzed due to strike the situation for the passengers become grim. The state government should take sympathetic view and solve the hindrances faced by the contract employees of the state transport department. 

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ELECTIONS 
The elections to the municipal corporations are due next year, the political leaders of all the political parties in Punjab through mass contact programmes with their cadre meeting the grass root level workers. Congress, BJP, SAD(B) and BSP are having cadre at grass root level whereas AAP is trying to gear up for the municipal corporation elections by putting the weight on the shoulders of their MLAs to carry out campaign. Leaders of AAP are sure of better performance winning all the municipal corporation elections. In the municipal corporation elections personal and personality vote plays major role along with the parties’ cadre vote. Here the division of votes within the parties cannot predict the future results of municipal corporations where elections are to be held.

BHARAT JODO YATRA IN PUNJAB
Congress leaders throughout Punjab are gearing up the coming Bharat Jodo Yatra. The yatra will cover various districts of Punjab before concluding in J&K. There are questions that will the Bharat Jodo Yatra be successful in Punjab to bring back the vote bank of congress in the municipal corporation elections and stand united sideline groupism if any? Now the ball is in the hands of congress leaders that how they with their charismatic vision bring back the congress vote bank in Punjab for the municipal corporation elections.

SENIOR BJP LEADERS AND WORKERS ISOLATED?
There are number of senior leaders who are feeling isolated within the party who worked during the days of Janata Party and then in the BJP in different capacities. Among them are Vipan Sharma, Satish Kapur, Dr Romesh Kamboj and many other senior leaders who stood firmly with the party during the days of militancy in Punjab and worked for the expansion of the organization structure. But now they are waiting to be adjusted / accommodated in the state politics. Interestingly, the experience of working for the organizational structure is well known to them because they have worked from the grass root level. Similarly there are leaders from Amritsar, Ludhiana and other areas also. There is a growing demand that BJP high command should review the old status and accommodate these isolated / ignored hard core workers and leaders to strengthen the party for the coming municipal corporation elections.  

Authored by: 
Rajat Kumar Mohindru,
Journalist, 
Jalandhar city