Cutting across party lines, rebels strike it big in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: This is the season of turncoats in Punjab politics and they seem to be striking the best deals.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress reel under a string of resignations after the parties refused tickets to many sitting legislatures for the upcoming assembly election.

While SAD, in power for 10 years, is trying to combat antiincumbency by bringing in new faces, Congress’ decisions are mainly based on internal surveys, which party sources said it conducted to evaluate winnability of candidates.

The AAP has also dug its heels deep in, and is trying to entice Dalits and NRIs. Punjab has the highest concentration of Dalits at 34% of the population. But it is also witnessing the exit of the party’s old warhorses who played important roles during the 2014 parliamentary elections. The AAP had won four of the 13 parliamentary seats from Punjab in 2014.

On Sunday, a former senior leader of the AAP, Yamini Gomar, joined the Congress. Gomar, who is a Dalit and was the AAP candidate in the 2014, called her former party “dictatorial” and “corrupt”.

Some Panthic leaders of the Shiromani Gurdwara Panthic Committee seem to be leaving the SAD. The committee that manages Sikh religious shrines is largely controlled by the SAD.

SGPC executive committee member from Barnala, Tek Singh Dhanola, joined SAD(L) led by TN Governor Surjit Singh Barnala’s wife Surjit Kaur Barnala. Till recently, Tek Singh was a close confidant of SAD(B) secretary-general Sukhdev Dhindsa, but was feeling disgruntled after a break up with Dhindsa family.