BJP candidate Kewal Dhillon lost his deposit in the by-election to Sangrur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab, but the party claims that there are many positive signs for him even in this crushing defeat. BJP contested the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat on its own for the first time and got more votes than its old ally Shiromani Akali Dal here.

BJP gave ticket to Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, Kewal Singh Dhillon, who recently joined Congress, got 66269 votes in the by-election. On the other hand Shiromani Akali Dal has always been fighting on Sangrur seat but in this election its candidate Kamaljit Kaur Rajoana got only 44428 votes. Here the Congress also got only 13 thousand votes more than the BJP. Leaders associated with BJP claim that this is a good sign for the party. Gradually, the base of BJP is increasing in the state.

After the farmers’ movement, BJP is putting all its efforts to establish its foothold in Punjab. In the assembly elections held three months ago, it got only two seats. It was a big setback for the party, but despite contesting for the first time in the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, getting more votes from the Akali Dal will boost the morale of the party workers.

Alarm bells for Congress-Akali Dal

The manner in which the people of Punjab voted for the BJP in the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-election, despite the lowest turnout in the last 31 years, is an alarm bell for the Congress. The gap of only 13 thousand votes between Congress and BJP will increase the problems of the party in the coming days. In the coming days, many more faces of Congress may go towards BJP.

On the other hand, the bypoll results for Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal are even more worrying. He will have to work hard to keep the party and his cadre afloat. The Akali candidate getting less votes than the BJP in the by-elections is a sign that the Akali Dal’s cadre is shifting in the rural areas of Punjab.

BJP did not support Dhillon

Kewal Singh Dhillon, who is said to be a confidant of former CM Captain Amarinder Singh, was given ticket to the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-election by BJP after leaving the Congress, but the party did not show much interest in his campaign. Nothing like the way BJP is known for fighting elections was visible in Dhillon’s campaign. In the Sangrur by-election, neither any big leader of BJP came to seek votes nor did they get support from senior leaders of Punjab. However, BJP’s Punjab unit chief Ashwini Sharma made rounds from temples to deras in Sangrur.

Whatever vote Dhillon got in the Sangrur by-election, it is in a way his own vote bank. Dhillon belongs to Barnala in Sangrur parliamentary constituency and has won many elections for Congress from there. In this election too, he got votes from urban areas only. Still, it can be said that Dhillon has done the work of preparing the foundation for the BJP in this area on the pretext of this election. If the central and Punjab level leaders had cooperated a little, then in Sangrur, the BJP could have left the Congress behind.

 

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