Anger in Punjab BJP amid influx of leaders from other parties

NEW DELHI: The entry of former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal from Congress into the BJP made him the seventh cabinet minister from the former Captain government to join the saffron party.
But BJP’s acceptance of leaders from other parties has created resentment among the ground cadre and old workers in the Punjab unit. Not only resentment, but factionalism of Congress has also shifted to BJP after it inducted leaders from the grand old party. Soon after Manpreet Badal joined BJP, he faced a verbal attack from BJP’s Bathinda district president. Sarup Chand Singla, former Akali Dal leader and ex-MLA Bathinda, who joined the saffron party last year and is now president of the BJP Bathinda district, attacked Manpreet Badal and said complaints against him won’t be taken back.
On 23 August 2022, Singla approached the Vigilance Bureau and submitted a complaint against Manpreet and his aides accusing Badal of favouritism and corruption in granting contracts during the previous Congress regime.
Sunil Jakhar, former Punjab Congress chief, and Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, former minister in Captain Amarinder Singh’s government, are now in the same boat after they both joined BJP, but their infighting has continued in the saffron party.
In 2021, Sunil Jakhar wrote a letter to AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, seeking criminal proceedings against Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi in the alleged “double compensation” case. Later, this issue snowballed into a major controversy for the Congress government.
Recently, Punjab BJP released lists of office-bearers and the lists were dominated by various Congress and Akali leaders who have joined the party in recent times.
A BJP worker from Malwa while talking to The Sunday Guardian highlighted that many workers on the ground are not happy with the influx of leaders from other political parties.“The party has brought many MLAs from Congress and Akali Dal and given them senior positions in the party. These leaders used to be once our bête noire, but now we have to take orders from them,” said a BJP worker from Fatehgarh Sahib. “This has left many of us demoralized and side-lined,” he added.
A senior BJP leader from Majha also said the same. “I am associated with the party for more than a decade and we have been working relentlessly for the party, but these recent developments in the party unit and giving positions to leaders from Congress and Akali Dal has made us feel dejected.”
“A senior position in party’s youth wing is given to the former Akali leader, who joined the BJP last year and was also given the ticket in Assembly elections. Many senior workers of the youth wing are feeling sidelined after this,” a senior functionary of BJYM said. The Sunday Guardian reached out to a senior BJP functionary from the Punjab unit to discuss the internal resentment in the party. “BJP is not asking leaders from other parties to join, they are coming of their own will; after looking at BJP’s development agenda, if anybody who wants to work for the development of the state, with the blessing of PM Modi, is welcomed in the party”.
Asked about internal resentment, “BJP is like a family and inducting of leaders from other parties in making BJP strong in the state.”Another senior functionary of the BJP gave the rationale behind the recent joining. “Earlier, we were limited to 23 Assembly seats because of the coalition, but now, we are open for 117 seats and to fight on all seats we need more leaders. The faces from other parties are not only bringing their political clout, but they are also bringing cadre for the party,” the BJP leader said. Asked about dejection in the cadre, he said, “We are aware that many are feeling demoralized, but the party is working to pacify the situation.”
The central unit of the BJP is keeping a keen eye on Punjab. Revival in the state and good scores in the 2024 general elections are some of the top priorities of the saffron party.In the next coming four months, BJP has planned to hold rallies in all 13 parliamentary seats. But resentment on the ground could impact the party’s performance in general elections.