Charanjit Singh Channi’s elevation as the Punjab Chief Minister may snatch away the electoral race from the Opposition, i.e. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), with the former’s MLA slipping and defecting to the Congress. AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is trying to politically balance and bargain the strength and strategy to be in the reckoning but may prove to be competitive for the lack of consensus on agenda and blueprint.
Similarly, the SAD party is grappling with its contrasts and contradictions after walking out of the NDA alliance over the contentious farm bills jostling for space, creating a channel for communicating its politics, positions and perceptions to its broader audience that can fall short of promising their back door entry to the BJP.
Though the Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu chapter wreaked havoc on the prospect of the Congress in a State already grasped by insurgency and infiltration from across the border (Punjab shares its border with Pakistan), which could seriously jeopardise its law and order, security and stability.
But Channi acting boldly and loudly on the policy and programme means a lot for the well-being and welfare of the population. It regains people’s faith in a strong leader, reformer and administrator who acknowledges and appreciates the merit of modernisation, while equally recognising the potential of its people. After all, Punjab is one of the States where community consensus and capital play a definite role in shaping and nurturing a sense of entitlement and empowerment held dear by the janata — something that the Opposition is certainly missing and misinterpreting.