BJP sweats out in Amritsar with ex-diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Image credit X @SandhuTaranjitS
BJP worry mounts as Taranjit Singh Sandhu faces workers’ unrest in Amritsar
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, April 20: India’s former ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu had an early start in the Lok Sabha election campaign. He hit the campaign trails in Amritsar, Punjab after joining the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was named as the official candidate afterwards.
The Amritsar Lok Sabha seat will go to the polling on June 1 in the seventh phase. Predictably, the top guns of the BJP have not yet touched the bases in the high-profile constituency. But Sandhu is already sweating out in Amritsar parliamentary constituency.
Sandhu is holding meetings with cross-sections of the electorate in Amritsar. He meets the BJP workers. Sandhu is visiting Sikh religious places. He has met the local bar association members.
The former diplomat is showing visible zeal to connect with the electorate in Amritsar parliamentary constituency. But there is now a growing concern among senior leaders of the BJP. They fear that Sandhu’s campaign runs the risk of running into dogged ambitions of the local party leaders.
Also read: Book Review: Mystical glimpses from world of sixty-four Yoginis
But Sandhu is unfazed. The water contamination for him is a big issue in Amritsar. “Addressing water contamination with sewage waste in Amritsar is a top priority,” Sandhu said during one of his interactions in the holy city.
The former diplomat is hopeful that he would be able to solve the issue of contamination of water through “cutting-edge technology”. But the BJP leaders in New Delhi wonder if the former diplomat would be able to edge past the clout of Shwait Malik, the Rajya Sabha MP and former Punjab unit chief of the party.
“Sandhu needs Malik on his side, for he holds control in the party unit in the city. Sandhu will need Malik to bring back the party workers behind him,” said a senior BJP functionary.
Ironically, Malik himself was a ticket hopeful from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat. There were other hopefuls as well. The city unit of the BJP is said to be growing restive against the party dropping candidates from outside.
Also read: BJP think tank in report claims Kerala finance in shambles
Former Union Minister Arun Jaitely had added weight while doggedly campaigning in Amritsar for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The added weight didn’t translate into enough votes. The BJP pitched Hardeep Singh Puri in 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar. The Sikh face too failed to help the BJP win the seat.
Additionally, the BJP is now without the support of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The BJP’s last winning candidate in 2009 from Amritsar was ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu. He is now a Congress leader. Siddhu is keeping a low-profile as his wife is carrying a critical illness.
While Sandhu faces the task of rallying the party workers behind him, the former diplomat also has to steady the BJP ship without the support of the SAD, which had been a long-term ally of the saffron outfit. Additionally, the shadow of the farmers’ protests loom large on the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.
About The Author
