While attention has focused on next month’s Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest state due to the strategic implications of this poll battle for Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally, the significance of the contest in much smaller Punjab is that the BJP is in power in the state along with the Akali Dal, its regional partner. The significance of cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in the electoral landscape of the key northern state lies in the fact that he has given up his seat as a BJP MP to join the Congress. Besides, Mr Sidhu is from the agricultural Jat Sikh community, which has traditionally leaned towards the Akali Dal.
After the relative success it found in Punjab in the last Lok Sabha election, the Aam Aadmi Party has also joined the fray for the state polls in a major way. This makes Punjab a three-way race for the first time, and has made many wonder if the Congress can be deemed to be the automatic beneficiary of the anti-incumbency that the Akali Dal-BJP government suffers from.
With the former opening batsman, a high-profile individual, contesting an Assembly seat from iconic Amritsar, the home of the Sikh faith, on its ticket, the Congress is likely to feel more reassured, though the nature of candidate selection across Punjab will still matter. Mr Sidhu has also brought with him to the Congress former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh, who was a sitting Akali MLA. This enhances his value to the Congress campaign.
