What Does the Congress Infighting in Punjab Mean for State Elections?

Note: The original version of the article was published on July 7th 2021 in “The Daily Guardian”

The infighting in the Indian National Congress (INC) in Punjab has made news over the last few months. The news took precedence in April after the Punjab and Haryana High Courts quashed the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) report on the sensitive Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing cases. The judgement sparked tension between a few Congress leaders, who have been critical of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in the past. While the SIT probe may have been the match that lit the fire, signs of brewing discontent amongst the senior members of the party and the Captain have been there since his victory in the state polls in 2017. Out of the seven states going to polls in 2022, Punjab is the only state where the Congress is in power. Along with dealing with a shrinking voter base, with control of only three states in India, winning Punjab back is critical for the survival of the INC. The question that now arises is what effect the growing dissatisfaction will have on the Congress’ strategy in the upcoming elections and whether or not the Captain will be able to quash the dissent and secure another victory in the state.

The Match that Lit the Fire

The feud between senior Congress legislators and the Captain came to light after the government lost the Behbal Kalan and Kot Kapura firing cases in the High Court in April this year. In 2015, a number of instances of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib took place at Bargari in Faridkot district. Thousands of people came out in protest, demanding action against those behind the incident. During one such demonstration in Kotkapura, the police fired upon unarmed protestors, killing two people. An onslaught of allegations appeared, including that top police officials and then Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal gave directions for the firing. This caused the popularity of the Badal government to sink to an all-time low, and the Congress promised action against those responsible for the incident as one of the key promises during their 2017 election campaign.

The rejection of the SIT report intensified the criticism against the Captain’s government, with many leaders, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying that this was due to the “incompetence” of the Captain. Punjab Provincial Congress Committee president Sunil Jakhar and Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa even offered to resign at a Cabinet meeting over the issue.

Long-Term Resentment Brewing Against Amarinder Singh

In 2017, the INC was able to sweep the assembly elections, securing a solid 77 seats in the 117 member legislature and a vote share of 38.64 per cent. The SAD-BJP alliance, which was struggling in the aftermath of the 2015 cases and subsequent firing incidents, only managed to secure 18 seats. The AAP won 20 seats, which however, were limited to urban seats and the party could not make inroads into the rural base. Captain Amarinder Singh proved his worth once again during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning eight of the 13 seats, with a vote share of 40.12 per cent. The BJP and SAD managed to secure only two seats each, while the AAP won one seat.

Resentment started brewing inside the Congress shortly after its victory, when the government fulfilled its promise of extending farm debt waivers worth INR 5,000 crore to farmers. From the first year of the government, party members began complaining that bureaucrats were running the government while the political leaders were being ignored. Many complained that the debt waiver benefit was being transferred without any credit to politicians. Time and time again, the Captain has also been accused of being inaccessible by others in the party. The report of a Special Task Force (STF) on drugs, soft stance on sand mafia, and not cancelling the controversial Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) have also all been points of resentment among party members.

Another major point that led to anger within the party was reports of the Captain keeping dossiers on over two dozen INC MLAs. These alleged dossiers detail the involvement of party contemporaries in the sand mining business, liquor trade, transport business, and land-grab cases. During a Vidhan Sabha session, the Captain indicated that he had reports on all his party legislators, however, he has now denied having prepared any dossiers recently.

What Does This Mean For The Congress in 2022?

After the infighting became public, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi constituted a committee headed by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge along with Delhi MP JP Agarwal and Congress general secretary in-charge of Punjab, Harish Rawat. The committee, after listening to about 150 leaders including ministers, MLAs, MPs, leaders of frontal organisations, and others, submitted a report to Sonia Gandhi. The Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, also appeared before the committee.

As per media reports, the report of the Committee has recommended that Navjot Singh Sidhu be given a role and the party structure be reorganized. Sources also added that the majority of the MLAs continue to support the Captain, even though some of them are unhappy with him. The committee has recommended that more Dalit leaders should be given representation within the party. The Congress has yet to take any action on the report and its recommendations.

While the crisis seems to have simmered down, with party rebels stating that they are waiting for Sonia Gandhi to take action, the problems for the Congress in Punjab leading up to the assembly elections are far from over. While internal dissent has emerged, the party is also facing external dissent from teachers, healthcare workers, safai karamcharis, government employees, farmers groups amongst others. While it is possible that the Congress will not change guard in the state, it is likely that the Captain will need to share power with his detractors. The party faces a tough challenge as it continues to contemplate who the Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief could be, while maintaining caste and communal representation balance, which could affect the outcome of the elections.

Shreya Maskara/New Delhi
With inputs from Damini Mehta, Junior Associate at Polstrat and Abhinay Chandna, Shivangana Chaturvedi, Interns at Polstrat.
From Polstrat, a non-partisan political consultancy which aims to shift the narrative of political discourse in the country from a problem-centric to a solutions-oriented approach.
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Polstrat is a political consultancy aiming to shift the narrative of political discourse in the country from a problem-centric to a solutions-oriented approach.