Congress puts Badals under house arrest'

New Delhi: The Congress’ decision to field state party chief Captain Amarinder Singh against chief minister Prakash Singh Badal from Lambi, and the party’s Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu against deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal from Jalalabad, is part of a well-crafted plan to keep the Badals engaged in their own respective strongholds — leaving little space for the duo to campaign in other parts of the state.

With Wednesday being the last day for filing nominations in Punjab, both Amarinder Singh and Mr Bittu filed their papers from Lambi and Jalalabad, respectively.

A senior Punjab Congress leader said the party was not in a mood to take any chances during the campaigning, and fielding heavyweights against the Badals would ensure that they devote more time and focus to their constituencies.

“As this is going to be one of the most keenly contested triangular elections for the first time in Punjab, we don’t want to give any manoeuvring space to the Badals. Putting up strong candidates against them will ensure that they spend more time in their areas, leaving little time to focus on other parts of the state,” a senior state Congress leader said.

While Congress plans to “tie down” the Badals in their Assembly segments, it also plans an aggressive campaign with entrant Navjot Singh Sidhu, who too filed his nomination papers on Wednesday from Amrtisar East seat.

Congress plans to hold as many as 75 roadshows and rallies across 70 Assembly segments in Punjab along with Mr Sidhu, Amarinder Singh and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

People familiar with the matter say that Mr Sidhu, himself a Jat Sikh, would be used extensively in rural areas of Punjab which has a sizeable presence of the community — incidentally the traditional vote base of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

The two other prominent Sikh faces — the former PM and Amarinder Singh — will also be used extensively to attract voters from the community.

With Punjab’s rural areas predominantly an agricultural economy, the Congress will play up the issue of how demonetisation has hurt farmers.

Dr Kehar Singh, a former political science Reader at Punjab University, said that although Congress may not be certain about winning Lambi and Jalalabad, putting up strong candidates will definitely restrict movement of Badals.

“This is a smart move on the part of the Congress because the Akalis are already facing huge anti-incumbency, being in power for 10 years now,” Mr Singh said.

“This is also the first time that both father and son will face strong opponents in their Assembly segments, and will definitely require them to spend more time there,” he added.

The Aam Admi Party has also fielded two prominent leaders from Lambi and Jalalabad, respectively.