AICC Punjab in charge Shakeel Ahmed says the new party has made the elections hard to predict
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 30
As Punjab voted today in a crucial election to 13 parliamentary constituencies, the mood in the Congress camp in Delhi was upbeat with top leaders pinning a world of hope on the Akali Dal-BJP-ruled state. But one thing the Congress was constrained to admit despite all its enthusiasm about election results in Punjab is the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state and its potential role as a spoiler.
Speaking to The Tribune today, Shakeel Ahmed, Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab, admitted that AAP was a significant force in the state and was making the contest hard to predict in several seats.
“AAP is certainly a force to reckon with in Punjab. I have to admit that because I sensed it personally from my travels across the state during election campaigning. We are expecting a significant result in Punjab and if we get less than our expectations, AAP would have done us the damage. They are not only affecting urban votes in many areas but are also affecting the rural votes,” Shakeel said.
The Congress leaders are hoping to improve their 2009 tally when the party had bagged eight seats. “Anti-incumbency against the Akalis is huge and that gives us a formidable edge in the state. We are very hopeful but AAP’s gains would have to be watched,” he said, adding in a lighter note that Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP seems to be following him to every state.
Ahmed is also the Congress general secretary in charge of Delhi where AAP surprised everyone by emerging the second largest party in the 70-member state assembly, relegating the Congress to the third position with merely eight seats.
AAP has fielded candidates in all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state. These include comedian-actor Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur, lawyer HS Phoolka in Ludhiana, cardiologist Dharamvir Gandhi in Patiala, Sucha Singh Chhotepur in Gurdaspur, eye surgeon Daljit Singh in Amritsar, Himmat Singh Shergill in Anandpur Sahib, Harinder Singh Khalsa in Fatehgarh Sahib, Sadhu Singh in Faridkot, Yamini Gomar from Hoshiarpur, Satnam Paul Kamboj in Ferozepur, Bhai Baldeep Singh from Khadoor Sahib, Jasraj Singh Longia from Bathinda and Jyoti Mann from Jalandhar.
Congress leaders privately admit that Mann, Chottepur, Phoolka, Gandhi, Baldeep Singh and Daljt Singh are impacting Congress results in the seats they are contesting.
In Sangrur, for instance, sitting Congress MP Vijay Inder Singla had to request for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s rally at Barnala to brighten his prospects, with Bhagwant putting up a great fight here.
Source Link: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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