The Congress party’s final flourish in announcing Charanjit Singh Channi as its chief ministerial face, settling its inner feud and hoping for a Dalit consolidation in favour of Mr. Channi, a Ramdasia Sikh, has not led to a change of heart in the Malwa region, where the party is desperate to hold on to its 2017 tally.
An overwhelming majority of the voters that The Hindu spoke to in two reserved constituencies of Shutrana and Dirbha in the Malwa region asserted that they want a “navi sarkar”, a new government.
The voter is angry and disillusioned, with a strong narrative against the two traditional parties in Punjab —the Congress and Akali Dal — for failing to keep their promises.
Laddi Singh, a Mazhabi Sikh from Shutrana village, is livid. He along with his two brothers, their wives, and children — a total of 12 persons — live in a two-room hutment. “Sannu kakh nahi ditta (We didn’t get anything!)”, he says talking about the Congress and Akali regimes. His economic condition and living situation has largely remained the same in all these years, he rues. For Mr. Singh and his family, Mr Channi’s Dalit status makes little difference.
The AAP’s slogan “Ek Mauka Kejriwal Nu” (One chance for Kejriwal) finds resonance here as voters are eager to try a third option. The bottom line of the pro-AAP narrative is that they should be tested once. At the end of five years, the voter can replace them with Congress or Akalis in case they fail.
Mr Channi belongs to the Ramdasia community and the community is sympathetic towards him. However, this sympathy is not translating into support. “He got very little time, but during this time, he did well. But it is time for a change,” said Gurjan Singh, a Ramdasia Sikh, from Dirbha. Reducing the electricity bill and waiving off the pending water bill are often quoted as the achievements of his short-lived government.
Congress workers also agree that the announcement came in too late. “The ticket announcement happened late and Channi ji’s announcement happened only yesterday; we have very little time left to cover the lost ground,” Randheer Singh, who was campaigning for the Shutrana candidate Darbara Singh, said.
Importantly, the AAP supporters here are loud and well prepared to counter all questions raised by the Congress and other parties on the party or the Chief Ministerial face Bhagwant Mann. The AAP primarily offers them hope of replicating the Delhi model, especially the education and healthcare facilities that the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal boasts about. “Sardar Bhagwant Mann is a honest person. And this is an election between the corrupt and the honest,” Boria Ram, 70-year-old cobbler, said.
This voiceferous display of loyalty towards Mr. Mann stands in stark contrast with the timid Congress supporters. Baljeet Singh, 50, a Ramdasia scrap dealer, speaks softly as he explains his reasons for supporting Mr Channi. He and his family have been lifelong BSP supporters. To see a fellow Ramdasia occupying the highest position in the State is a dream for which he is wiling to switch loyalty. “I will be voting for Mr. Channi and not the Congress. There is a difference between the two,” he said.
