As Punjab voted today in all 117 assembly constituencies, News18 spoke with incumbent chief minister and Congress’ CM face Charanjit Singh Channi as he was going through a story in the newspaper that mentioned Dera Sacha Sauda’s support to the BJP and Akalis. Dera’s support for the BJP brings mixed reactions for Channi who said he’s “not at all worried”. He told News18, “I am used to targeting everyone in me whether it’s the BJP or the Kejriwal.”
Channi said there is no question that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would not win the elections when asked people were talking about winds of change in Punjab. “I am the change. I am the change from the royalty nature of the politics, which was going on in Punjab for quite some time,” he said, alluding to veteran leader Amarinder Singh who quit the CM’s post and Congress last year.
Congress faces one of its toughest challenges in Punjab from AAP and is trying every trick up its sleeves to ensure that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party does not form the government in Punjab.
Even on the polling day today, Channi was traveling from booth to booth trying to project himself as ‘aam aadmi ka CM’.
What has affected Congress’s image this time is the massive infighting within the party. When asked about his relation with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, Channi said, “I firmly believe that all of us need to be together and we are together but perhaps more could have been done.”
Channi was made the chief minister in the hope to capture Dalit and Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes’ vote bank but, it seems, that may not be enough for the Congress.
With the of Kejriwal having Khalistani connections seemed as a “desperate move”, Channi said, “It is not true. As a chief minister, I have every right to be worried about the national security and a border state like Punjab cannot afford to have a party like AAP.” By raising the issue, the Congress hopes to bring about the fear factor specially among women who have gone through the dark days of the Khalistani movement in the rural and border areas of Punjab. If the AAP is voted to power in Punjab, those days would return, he added.
The election in Punjab could have two national implications: Whether the AAP will push its political ambition and possibly become the alternative to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a place that Mamata Banerjee has been working for. Another, if the AAP wins the Punjab election, it is likely to make inroads into Haryana, Gujarat and other states. This is the reason why political parties such as the BJP don’t want AAP to come to power in Punjab, top BJP sources tell News18.
But if the Congress wins Punjab, it will not only be the vindication of the ability and calibre of Channi but also of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who took the risk of replacing Amarinder Singh.
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