Captain vs Bhattal vs MPs

On the remaining 50,one or the other faction held sway. While Amarinder walked away with a lion’s share of over 30 seats and Bhattal with 12,the rest fell in kitty of union ministers (Preenet Kaur,Ambika Soni) and MPs (Manish Tewari,Pratap Singh Bajwa). But Amarinder’s poll managers,who had hired private agencies to conduct surveys to find the right candidates and more so to deny tickets to some probables,blundered on who they enlisted.

Here are the seats that could have changed the game for the party had there been consensus.

Accommodation with chain reaction

After former minister Jasjit Randhawa could not be awarded Amloh seat — it went to Bhattal loyalist Randeep Singh whose Nabha seat had been reserved post delimitation — Amarinder gave him Dera Bassi,raising a rebel in Deepinder Dhillon,who secured second highest number of votes. Adjustment of Surjit Dhiman in Amargarh led to loss of another crucial seat.

From Mansa,an urban seat which has a strong bania vote,the candidature of former MLA Mangat Rai Bansal — whose Budhlada seat has been reserved — and Surinder Singla was ignored for daughter-in-law of outgoing MLA Sher Singh Gagowal. Bansal lost Maur and Gurpreet Kaur Mansa.

In Budhlada,choice of Satpal Singh by Amarinder and son Raninder proved fatal. Attempt to reward Chaudhary Jagjit Singh’s loyalty also cost the party (Kartarpur) seat.

Embrace others’ rebels,shun own

Amarinder’s decision to embrace dissidents from other parties just a month before polls and giving them tickets fanned rebellion. SAD rebel Kaka Lohgarh could not win Dharamkot — Punjab Mahila Congress president Malti Thapar was a contender — nor could PPP rebel Jagbir Brar clinch the Jalandhar Cantt seat. To make matters worse,the name of three candidates were unceremoniously dropped after being announced. These three seats — Amaritsar east,north and Jalandhar central — went to the BJP,as those dropped turned rebels. The party in all failed to placate its 22 rebels.

Bhattal’s camp

Bhattal’s devotion to the cause of her loyalists cost the party many seats. Sangrur,Faridkot,Sahnewal and Jandiala were lost due to her stance of “no sitting MLA to be disturbed”. For instance,Faridkot came in the way of swapping three seats.

Collapse of kin order

Almost all senior leaders are to be blamed for this. Seats to kin not only fuelled rebellion on many seats,they eventually failed to emerge as winners. Seats lost: Samana (Amarinder and Preneet Kaur’s son Raninder Singh),Sham Chaurasi (husband of Hoshiarpur MP Santosh Chaudhary),Jalandhar (wife of MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee),Bassi Pathana (wife of former Punjab Congress chief S S Dullo) and Sahnewal (Bhattal’s son-in-law). Loyalists of MP Manish Tewari lost two crucial seats in Ludhiana while Gurdaspur MP Pratap Bajwa is under fire for loss of Bhoa and Sujanpur seats.

Rahul brigade on tough seats

Decision to pitch Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s brigade against tough candidates — in Payal,Balachur,Majitha and Ferozepur rural — led to losses.

Ad blitzkrieg

What the party failed to do with tickets,it tried to do with ads. War room energies were singularily devoted to Jeeta and Jaggi ads to ridicule the Badals and the war on Facebook. Result: Virtul war was won,real lost.