Battle of surveys on 4 hot seats puts Cong in fix

Thursday, 11/04/2019

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CHANDIGARH: The four Punjab hot seats — Sangrur, Bathinda, Ferozepur and Anandpur Sahib —where the Congress has yet to name its candidates are witnessing a gripping politics over surveys. The state screening committee comprising CM Capt Amarinder Singh, state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Punjab affairs in-charge Asha Kumari and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal are slated to meet party president Rahul Gandhi for the second time in a week on Thursday to reach a consensus.

Those privy to discussions said the CM is backing his loyalists on these seats using armoury of surveys and feedback collected by intelligence and ex-servicemen employed as “guardians of governance” (GoG) by his regime. The ex-servicemen were asked to give feedback from the ground on interested candidates of both the Congress and opposition parties. “We sent names of candidates to our district headquarters. It was not put out on the app,” Colonel Bhajan Singh, a GoG functionary of Kharar tehsil, said. Ex-servicemen deployed in Sangrur and Ferozepur too confirmed that poll-related feedback was sought. The scheme is app-based and feedback is uploaded to reach deputy commissioners and department functionaries from villages and tehsils. Since the GoGs earn an honorarium from the government, they cannot undertake poll-related work. CM’s senior adviser Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd), who heads the scheme, did not reply to repeated calls and text messages. At meetings with the CM in January, Congress MLAs had criticised the scheme saying ex-servicemen were encroaching on their turf. Amarinder is pushing the name of Manish Tewari for Anandpur Sahib. During state screening panel’s meeting, Rahul had asked if it is a Hindu or Sikh dominated seat. While the three district presidents of the party have written to the party calling it is a Sikh-dominated seat, Amarinder and Asha are calling it a Hindu-dominated seat. Former minister Jagmohan Kang, whose son Yadwinder is among the claimants from here, says his son was leading the AICC surveys. “It is a Sikh-dominated seat. I too have written to party about this. The Youth Congress has recommended names of my son and Punjab Youth Congress president Amarpreet Lally. So far, none of the nine seats declared by the Congress have gone to the youth,” Kang says. Rajya Sabha member Ambika Soni too is learnt to have asked the party to field a youth face from her former seat. In Sangrur, where CM his rooting for his loyalist, Kewal Dhillon, AICC’s functionaries say their phone surveys put Dhillon’s name below Vijay Inder Singla, who contested last time. It was this feedback that made Venugopal veto Dhillon’s nomination twice. A Congress leader said Rahul is getting feedback from his core team and his aide Krishna Allaveru has been visiting every block and district in Punjab to feel the pulse of party cadres. In Ferozepur too, where Amarinder is keen on candidature of another confidant, Rana Gurmit Sodhi, surveys are being cited to boost Sodhi’s prospects. In Bathinda, where Harsimrat Badal may test her mettle the third time, Singla’s name is being proposed by Amarinder and Asha. Manpreet Badal, who contested last time against Harsimrat, is learnt to be leading the AICC surveys but he has expressed his unwillingness to contest. Former MLA Ajit Inder Singh Mofar claims there are just 16% Hindus and Singla’s name does not figure in the surveys. “The reports place me favour ab ly after Manpreet. The Sikh vote is nearly 46% and if we include SCs and OBCs too, it goes up to 80%,” Mofar says.