Bajwa giving Akalis run for their money; must not get carried away

Saturday, 14/09/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/punjab/bajwa-giving-akalis-run-for-their-money-must-not-get-carried-away/86716

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa has been giving the Akalis run for their money quite for some time. Initially the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Chief Minister son Sukhbir Singh Badal were quite dismissive of Bajwa deriding him of fighting a survival battle within the Congress. Several months into the saddle now, Bajwa has actually made the Akalis in general and the Badals in particular realise that there is a strong opposition existing in the state and it has potential to mobilise the people.

For the first time in many months the Akali-BJP government has been brought on the defensive with sustained campaign led by Bajwa. His political rallies are well attended and his criticism of the government is quite well argued. He has tried to build up so much pressure on the government that the public relations minister Bikram Singh Majithia had to hold a special orientation course for the officers of his department asking them to be alert and active as also responsive.

However if Bajwa gets carried away with this support he will be scripting his own downfall. And if he thinks that people who attend his rallies are attending these just because he happens to the PCC president, he will be grossly mistaken. He must realise that there is strong grassroots base of the Congress party across Punjab that exists for a long time and has even survived the dark days of terrorism. Congress continues to remain the largest party in the state and almost as large as the Akalis and BJP put together. Remember the difference between the votes polled by the Congress and Akali-BJP (together) in the last assembly election in 2012 was less than one per cent.

Moreover there is a strong anti-incumbency feeling running against the government. The state has virtually gone broke with salaries and pensions remaining unpaid for months together and not to speak of the payment to be made to various agencies for various developmental works. That resentment is also reflecting in the public rallies of the Congress. Bajwa deserves the credit for channelizing that resentment into political opposition and he has greatly succeeded at it.

However, Bajwa has not matched the channelizing of the grassroots support with synchronising the energies of the party leadership at the top. The way he has tried to sideline and marginalise some important and influential senior leaders, just because they were or are close to his predecessor Capt Amarinder Singh, reflects bad on his leadership. He should ideally have tried to draw a balance and ensure that no leader is left out or is made to feel left out.

And he has not been subtle in his leadership. The way he has been deliberately trying to promote and project particular leaders only betrays an intention that seems so obvious. He may be addressing largely attended public rallies but if he is not able to present a semblance of unity at the top he will not be deemed to be completely successful. This is not the time to divide and rule, but unite and lead. And Bajwa must unite and lead.