Punjab Congress enters new phase tomorrow
Saturday, 23/03/2013
http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Punjab-Congress-enters-new-phase-tomorrow.html
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Congress enters a new phase tomorrow with Partap Singh Bajwa formally taking over the new President that represents a generational change. It is Capt. Amarinder Singh who has been dominating the party affairs for about a decade and a half.
The main challenge before Bajwa is to rejuvenate the party to confront the ruling Akali Dal-BJP combine in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. The party rank and file feel demoralized after successive defeats of the party, the latest being the Moga by-election. However, Moga by-election is also an example of the party giving a fight provided the command is effective as was provided by Capt. Amarinder Singh.
Along with the appointment of Bajwa, the party high command has done another experiment by appointing zonal heads that include Gurpreet Singh Kangar for Malwa, Tarlochan Singh Soond for Doaba and Om Parkash Soni for Majha. The party has been searching for good leaders from the scheduled castes and the Hindus that used to be the traditional support base of the party in the state. However, the Akali Dal-BJP combine has succeeded in making inroads into this traditional support base. It may be mentioned that it was Capt. Amarinder Singh who had managed to win over a section of the Punjab peasantry that used to be the stronghold of the Akalis.
The budget session has set the party on the path of confrontation with the Akali Dal-BJP combine. Both the positive and negative aspects of the Congress boycott of the session are being debated. The Congress MLAs are holding mock sessions outside the Assembly premises to focus on certain issues. But then the debate inside the House has different impact.
The Akali-Dal BJP combine is making every move with an eye on the Lok Sabha election. A tax free budget has been presented despite the financial crisis the state is facing. The government is finding it difficult even to pay salaries and pensions.
The immediate task for the new president would be at the organizational level for constituting his core team. Capt. Amarinder Singh all along had his own team.
Meanwhile Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and central ministers including Aswani Kumar, Manish Tewari and Parneet Kaur are likely to attend the taking over ceremony at the Congress Bhavan.
