The Congress is hoping to kill two birds with one stone as the Lakhimpur Kheri issue rages with the toll going up to nine. In Uttar Pradesh, it is trying to register its presence. Further north in Punjab, it is aiming to regain lost ground following the power tussle between Amarinder Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu and, now, Charanjit Channi. Both states will go to polls next year.
Sources told News18 that as the outrage over four farmers’ deaths in UP’s Lakhimpur mounted, a call was made from senior Congress leader KC Venugopal’s office to the Punjab unit, instructing them to latch onto the issue to steal a march over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minster Sukhi Randhawa was asked to take a special flight to UP, but was denied permission to land in Lucknow.
Hundreds of farmers, mostly from Punjab, have been camping at Delhi borders for 10 months now, seeking a rollback of the new farm laws. Most of the farmers protesting at Lakhimpur Kheri were from Punjab as well. Four farmers were killed when two SUVs allegedly ran over them near the protest site, while four occupants of the vehicles and a local journalist were killed in the ensuing violence. An FIR has been registered against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra’s son and several other persons.
The Congress SOS to Punjab paid off. Both the Akali Dal and AAP were slow in their response.
The sense of urgency in Congress camp comes after a survey the party conducted following Channi’s appointment as CM and his subsequent tug-of-war with Sidhu. Sources say that while the appointment of a proactive Dalit CM helped bring the Congress back in the game, the infighting, a belligerent AAP and on-the-warpath Amarinder could upset the Congress cart in Punjab.
Farmers are the backbone of the electorate in Punjab and it’s important for the Congress to be on top of the issue. As Priyanka Gandhi Vadra set off for Lakhimpur, it was decided that Deepender Hooda from Haryana would accompany her. Sources say Hooda is expected to play a key role in Punjab as well.
Priyanka Gandhi is expected to carry the Lakhimpur momentum to Punjab once the Channi-Sidhu rift is resolved. As for Congress prospects in UP, sources admitted to News18 that the events in Lakhimpur may help the party, but not to a great extent as it still needs to work on building strong organisation. But it has higher hopes in Punjab.
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