Punjab Polls 2022 | The cost of Congress leader Sunil Jakhar's exit from electoral politics

File image of Sunil Jakhar (PTI photo)

Senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar's decision to retire from electoral politics after Rahul Gandhi on February 6 announced that the party would seek re-election in Punjab under the leadership of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has surprised political analysts.

A prominent Hindu leader from Punjab, the 68-year-old Jakhar has on several occasions said his religion came in the way of him getting the top job.

Once in the running for the chief minister’s position following the ouster of Amarinder Singh, Jakhar has said he would continue with the Congress but his resignation may add to troubles for the party plagued by infighting in the state that votes on February 20.

"I am out of active politics. I have been saying this for the last five days but I am very much part and parcel of the Congress,” Jakhar said in Ludhiana on February 6.

Jakhar, who drove Gandhi, Channi and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu to the rally venue, even praised as the “bold decision” Gandhi's move to name Channi as the CM candidate.

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String of disappointments 

A few days ago, a video of Jakhar claiming that 42 MLAs wanted him to be the CM after the exit of Amarinder Singh in 2021 caused a stir in the faction-riven state unit.

The party had picked  Channi to be the first Dalit chief minister of the once-prosperous state that now faces an acute economic crisis.

Jakhar was named the chairman of the party’s campaign committee. His comments that he didn’t become the CM because of his religion sparked a political row.

The rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Congress of indulging in religion-based politics. The BJP, which has tied up with Amarinder Singh’s newly-formed Lok Congress Party, questioned the "selective secularism" of the Congress.

Jakhar’s decision to stay away from electoral politics with barely two weeks to go for the polling was perhaps his way of expressing his displeasure, political experts said.

Punjab's Hindu voters 

With 57.69 percent of the population following Sikhism, Punjab is the only Sikh majority state in India. Hindus comprise 38 percent of the population and can influence the outcome in at least 50 of the 117 assembly seats.

It is a sizable chunk of seats considering the multi-corner contest the state is seeing this time.

Also read: Explained: Why Congress picked Charanjit Singh Channi to succeed Amarinder Singh as CM of poll-bound Punjab

In the last assembly election, the Congress is believed to have done well in these seats, which are largely in urban areas.

“But Jakhar’s exit has made this support uncertain this time,” said a political analyst, adding the party could lose Hindu support this time.

With the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) breaking its long alliance with the BJP, observers said Hindu votes could shift towards the saffron party.

In months leading up to the elections, Sidhu has consistently targetted SAD led by the Badal family, in what is being seen as a bid to win the support of the “Panthic” vote bank.

The “Panthic’ voters of Punjab have traditionally been associated with the Akali Dal, while Hindu voters have supported the Congress, especially under Amarinder Singh.

Jakhar’s decision could lead a silent shift of Hindu votes away from the Congress.

The BJP has reportedly identified 45 seats, with around 60 percent Hindu population, it would focus on. Of these, 23 are those which the BJP, which is a bit player in the state, used to contest as the junior partner of the SAD for over two decades, sources said.

Who is Sunil Jakhar?

Born in 1954 in Abhar’s Panjkosi village, Jakhar was a three-time MLA from Abohar from 2002 to 2017. He is the son of former Union Minister and Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jakhar.

He lost the Abohar assembly seat in 2017 to the BJP. He, however, won the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-election the same year following the death of Member of Parliament Vinod Khanna of the BJP.

His nephew Sandeep Jakhar is the Congress candidate from Abohar for this election.

Also read: 2022 Assembly Elections | People of Punjab want AAP to form next govt in state: Bhagwant Mann

Jakhar has also been the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab assembly. He was appointed the Punjab Congress chief only to be replaced by Sidhu.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Jakhar lost the Gurdaspur seat to BJP candidate and actor Sunny Deol by over 82,000 votes.

(With PTI inputs)