SAD, BJP make major gains in assembly segments

CHANDIGARH, March 4: The ruling alliance comprising the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been able to make ...

CHANDIGARH, March 4: The ruling alliance comprising the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been able to make major gains during recent Lok Sabha elections in Punjab as compared to their individual performances during 1996 general elections when they had fought the polls separately.

Of the 117 Assembly segments which form the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the border state, the alliance, which captured all of these constituencies, scored handsome wins at 94 places. This success could partly be attributed also to the combines’s joining hands with the Bahujan Samaj Morcha(BSM), a split group of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal by offering them one seats each where their nomiees Satnam Singh Kainth and Inder Kumar Gujral, respectively, emerged victorious.

A camparative analysis of the results of two general elections reveals that the SAD and its allies have been able to capture 18 additional Assembly segments this time. Two years ago when the Akalis entered the poll arena in association with the BSP, they were successful only in 76 Assembly seats.

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The Congress, which is the main opposition party in the state and its poll partner BSP, have received a serious drubbing in last month’s elections. They, alongwith their association with the Communist Party of India, have together out-performed their rivals only in 21 segments.

Standing alone, the Congress nominees polled more votes in 13 Assembly constituencies this time whereas earlier when the party was in power, it had been retained 34 segments and two Parliamentary constituencies of Amritsar and Gurdaspur.

The BSP nominees have captured only six of these segments this time while earlier they had been successful on 16.

In contrast, the BJP’s strength has soared from one segment to encompass 26 segments this year. The Akali Dal(Amritsar) led by Simranjit Singh Mann could forge ahead of others only in two segments as against a lone one earlier and the CPI has also opened its account by claiming two segments.

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Significantly, the ruling alliance has been able to make a clean sweep of all Assembly segments in many Parliamentary constituencies in Punjab by capturing all nine seats each in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Taran Taran and Ropar.

It emerged victorious at eight place each in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, seven in Sangrur and Bathinda, six in Ferozepore, Patiala and Phillaur, and five each in Ludhiana and Faridkot.

During 1996 poll, the SAD and its allies had captured all Assembly segments only in Bathinda constituency, eight each in Faridkot, Sangrur and Ropar and the like. The ruling alliance has lost three segments in Faridkot, two in Bathinda and one each in Ludhiana, Sangrur and Patiala this time.

The results show that the Congress has made major inroads in the important constituencies of Faridkot, Ludhiana and Patiala. In Faridkot where it had won the lone segment of Muktsar two years, it has now captured Kotkapura, Gidderbaha, Malout as well besides Muktsar.These segments have been tranditionally known as strongholds of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

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In Ludhiana, the Congress has fared better in urban segments of Jagraon, Ludhiana North, Ludhiana East and Ludhiana Rural whereas earlier it had asserted its supermacy in Ludhiana North, Ludhiana East and Ludhiana West.

In Patiala, it has increased its influence to Ghanaur besides at Samana and Patiala Town which had been in its favour earlier also. The Congress has claimed one segment in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur each.

The BSP, which had three constituencies earlier, has suffered a serious setback by having been confined to three segments in Phillaur (against six earlier) three in Ferozepore (five earlier) and one in Hoshiarpur (five earlier).