Punjab Assembly Elections: A Political Triangle In Amritsar East

Amritsar, Punjab, February 20: As of Sunday, Punjab is the second state to go to polls in the current year of 2022, 10 days after Uttar Pradesh went into elections. However, unlike the U.P elections which is a battle between Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party, there is an ongoing "Love Triangle" amongst Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Here in Amritsar East, a hot seat in the assembly constituency, opinions and votes are divided between the three contenders. Contrary to political opinions, Congress Punjab Chief Navjot Singh Siddhu is unlikely to gain a substantial foothold as the anti-incumbency sentiments against him are riding high. But to predict a clear winner is nearly impossible here. While many residents at Amritsar are interested in giving the new challenger AAP a chance in this election, others are ready to give another chance to Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Bikram Singh Majithia.

Holding a clear bias towards the Congress and its candidate Siddhu, Congress Councillor Jatinder Singh Bhatia says that much effort has been put by its Punjab party chief in the development of the local area. He claims that while the issue of open drainage, Siddhu has significantly brought down corruption in Amritsar East. When asked over the specifications of the development tasks, Bhatia could not give a definite answer.

Ironically while pointing to the public litter and open drainage, Bhatia said, "Amritsar East has been beautified under the tenure of Navjot Singh Siddhu. SAD has given a chance to Majithia, an outsider, to contest from Amritsar East which is the home of Siddhu. He has also brought down the synthetic drug use and cases here in the area."

The local residents do not agree to these claims of Bhatia. 25-year-olds Virendra Singh, Robin, Lucky Singh and Gagan say that they have never seen any developmental work here in the area and that they have never seen Siddhu ever in the locality in the last five years. Siddhu had joined Congress in 2017, right before the then assembly elections and won the Amritsar East assembly seat.

Sharing similar sentiments, Vandana Devi, Shanti Rani and Monica say that the developmental claims made by Congress are no different from his predecessors and that Amritsar has seen no substantial work under any state government. Given that the population is unhappy with the offered political front of Congress or SAD, people are ready to give a chance to the new entrant AAP. While many recognise AAP's leaders Arvind Kejriwal and its Punjab chief Bhagwat Mann, the local AAP candidates name remain relatively unknown to the masses.

Amritsar East residents remain tight-lipped about their preferred candidate, the word "Silent Vote" echoes amongst the eligible voters. Many believe that the triangular political fight has divided the opinions of voters, across the lines of religion, caste and age-groups.

50-year-old Jaswinder Singh, who owns a photography studio in the Amritsar East locality, says that AAP may gain a substantial foothold in the area but it is not clear if the vote count would be enough to defeat Siddhu or his arch political rival Majithia of SAD.