Arun Jaitley was late. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for Amritsar was slated to appear on stage with the top leadership of his party’s Punjabi alliance partners, Shiromani Akali Dal, for an audience of prominent Ambarsaris. The state’s chief minister, 86-year-old Parkash Singh Badal, had already turned up, but Jaitley was still missing.
No matter, at least the Akali Dal show could carry on. “One hero is here,” said a SAD leader, referring to the chief minister, “but the other isn’t yet. That’s because Badalji understands that this is his battle too. In fact, he was the one who reposed his faith in Jaitleyji. It was his choice.”
It was said as a boast, but not one that the absent Jaitley might have been too happy to hear. Not just because of the anger against the SAD that is threatening to derail his electoral chances, but also as a sign of what might be expected if he does manage to win.
“They are truly hoping that Jaitley will win, become Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister like Badal said at the rally, and go back to Delhi,” said a BJP worker in Amritsar. “Then they can run the show here. That’s why they pushed so much for the ticket to be changed in Amritsar.”
The Shiromani Akali Dal, allied with the BJP, has been in power in Punjab for the last seven years. These years have also seen a significant spike in the assets recorded by the Badals and their extended family, as detailed by the Chandigarh-based Tribune in an series of investigative reports over the last week (see Part 1, 2, 3 and 4). The reports make it clear how the party has made its mark across a series of industries, from energy to transport and even the media, and used these to increase their clout as well as bank balances.
Which might explain why the Badals, who have offered unflagging support for the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, are almost rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of a BJP government at the Centre. The chief minister has been open about what he expects to see under a potential NDA regime.
“Whether it is industrial projects, whether it is roads, whether it is border issues, whether it is energy, everything has to come from the Centre,” Parkash Singh Badal said at the Amritsar meeting. “You’ve all seen what the UPA government has done. But the NDA will treat us very differently. If we have even someone with a little inclination towards Punjab at the Centre, you can’t imagine how much can happen here.”
These anticipated federal funds might also go some way towards altering the Badals' political prospects. Alongside the steep rise in their own assets over the last few years, Punjab’s own economy has sunk deeper and deeper into a financial quagmire.
Estimates suggest the state government’s debt is so severe, it could cross the Rs 1 lakh crore over this financial year. The treasury is in such a dire state that the government openly endorsed Badal’s hopes of getting relief from an NDA-ruled Centre by only presenting a Vote on Account in the state assembly in March rather than a full budget.
The finances are in such a pitiful state that Captain Amarinder Singh, a former chief minister from the Congress and Jaitley’s opponent in Amritsar, has advocated taking drastic measures. “Maybe the only way we can get past this is by passing a Financial Emergency Act, and have Punjab’s finances be taken over by the Centre,” said Singh, while also acknowledging that the Congress might not be the party in power in New Delhi. “If I am elected to the Lok Sabha, I will certainly push for this to be done to safeguard Punjab’s future.”
Both Singh and the Badals are naturally keeping their eye on 2017, when elections to the state assembly are expected next. Singh is hoping to leverage the severe anti-incumbency that has hit the SAD-BJP government over the last year, fuelled by the corruption allegations as well as a question mark over revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia’s alleged involvement in drug rackets.
The Badals, however, are hoping a Modi sarkar will give them the power and funds to effect a turnaround in time for the state polls. And for all the talk of Modi's authoritarian nature, there are indications that he has been willing to share power with steadfast partners.
Take the case of Navjot Singh Sidhu, the incumbent MP from Amritsar. Senior BJP leaders Lalji Tandon and Jaswant Singh might have been dropped because they lack winnability or had clashed with the state BJP leadership. Neither of those applied to Sidhu. He remains popular across Amritsar and the local BJP workers still speak well of his tenure.
Instead, Sidhu clashed with the alliance partner SAD, alleging that they were putting obstacles in the way of his projects for Amritsar’s development. The SAD has chafed at the growth of the local BJP unit over the years, and so pushed for a big-name outsider to replace Sidhu on the ticket. Jaitley has beenattempting to explain why Sidhu has been shutned out by making vague statements that he is being moved a bigger central role.
The Badals have interpreted this as a vote of confidence from Modi, with the chief minister going so far as to brag that he can ensure a candidate from the Indian National Lok Dal — which is fighting against the BJP in Haryana — will be accommodated in a potential NDA cabinet.
They might have stumbled in the trade-off, however. The announced intention was for Sidhu to be replaced in Amritsar, and then for the SAD to ensure whoever replaces him wins the seat. They even deputed Majithia for this purpose — but Jaitley is by no means assured a victory.
Which is why the SAD leader, still warming up the audience while waiting for Jaitley to turn up, tried to appeal to make it clear that this election was more than just about who represents Amritsar; it could have an impact on the fate of the SAD itself. “Don’t take this as just a parliamentary election,” he said. “This is a referendum of the Punjab government, a referendum on the working of our chief minister himself.”
No matter, at least the Akali Dal show could carry on. “One hero is here,” said a SAD leader, referring to the chief minister, “but the other isn’t yet. That’s because Badalji understands that this is his battle too. In fact, he was the one who reposed his faith in Jaitleyji. It was his choice.”
It was said as a boast, but not one that the absent Jaitley might have been too happy to hear. Not just because of the anger against the SAD that is threatening to derail his electoral chances, but also as a sign of what might be expected if he does manage to win.
“They are truly hoping that Jaitley will win, become Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister like Badal said at the rally, and go back to Delhi,” said a BJP worker in Amritsar. “Then they can run the show here. That’s why they pushed so much for the ticket to be changed in Amritsar.”
The Shiromani Akali Dal, allied with the BJP, has been in power in Punjab for the last seven years. These years have also seen a significant spike in the assets recorded by the Badals and their extended family, as detailed by the Chandigarh-based Tribune in an series of investigative reports over the last week (see Part 1, 2, 3 and 4). The reports make it clear how the party has made its mark across a series of industries, from energy to transport and even the media, and used these to increase their clout as well as bank balances.
Which might explain why the Badals, who have offered unflagging support for the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, are almost rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of a BJP government at the Centre. The chief minister has been open about what he expects to see under a potential NDA regime.
“Whether it is industrial projects, whether it is roads, whether it is border issues, whether it is energy, everything has to come from the Centre,” Parkash Singh Badal said at the Amritsar meeting. “You’ve all seen what the UPA government has done. But the NDA will treat us very differently. If we have even someone with a little inclination towards Punjab at the Centre, you can’t imagine how much can happen here.”
These anticipated federal funds might also go some way towards altering the Badals' political prospects. Alongside the steep rise in their own assets over the last few years, Punjab’s own economy has sunk deeper and deeper into a financial quagmire.
Estimates suggest the state government’s debt is so severe, it could cross the Rs 1 lakh crore over this financial year. The treasury is in such a dire state that the government openly endorsed Badal’s hopes of getting relief from an NDA-ruled Centre by only presenting a Vote on Account in the state assembly in March rather than a full budget.
The finances are in such a pitiful state that Captain Amarinder Singh, a former chief minister from the Congress and Jaitley’s opponent in Amritsar, has advocated taking drastic measures. “Maybe the only way we can get past this is by passing a Financial Emergency Act, and have Punjab’s finances be taken over by the Centre,” said Singh, while also acknowledging that the Congress might not be the party in power in New Delhi. “If I am elected to the Lok Sabha, I will certainly push for this to be done to safeguard Punjab’s future.”
Both Singh and the Badals are naturally keeping their eye on 2017, when elections to the state assembly are expected next. Singh is hoping to leverage the severe anti-incumbency that has hit the SAD-BJP government over the last year, fuelled by the corruption allegations as well as a question mark over revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia’s alleged involvement in drug rackets.
The Badals, however, are hoping a Modi sarkar will give them the power and funds to effect a turnaround in time for the state polls. And for all the talk of Modi's authoritarian nature, there are indications that he has been willing to share power with steadfast partners.
Take the case of Navjot Singh Sidhu, the incumbent MP from Amritsar. Senior BJP leaders Lalji Tandon and Jaswant Singh might have been dropped because they lack winnability or had clashed with the state BJP leadership. Neither of those applied to Sidhu. He remains popular across Amritsar and the local BJP workers still speak well of his tenure.
Instead, Sidhu clashed with the alliance partner SAD, alleging that they were putting obstacles in the way of his projects for Amritsar’s development. The SAD has chafed at the growth of the local BJP unit over the years, and so pushed for a big-name outsider to replace Sidhu on the ticket. Jaitley has beenattempting to explain why Sidhu has been shutned out by making vague statements that he is being moved a bigger central role.
The Badals have interpreted this as a vote of confidence from Modi, with the chief minister going so far as to brag that he can ensure a candidate from the Indian National Lok Dal — which is fighting against the BJP in Haryana — will be accommodated in a potential NDA cabinet.
They might have stumbled in the trade-off, however. The announced intention was for Sidhu to be replaced in Amritsar, and then for the SAD to ensure whoever replaces him wins the seat. They even deputed Majithia for this purpose — but Jaitley is by no means assured a victory.
Which is why the SAD leader, still warming up the audience while waiting for Jaitley to turn up, tried to appeal to make it clear that this election was more than just about who represents Amritsar; it could have an impact on the fate of the SAD itself. “Don’t take this as just a parliamentary election,” he said. “This is a referendum of the Punjab government, a referendum on the working of our chief minister himself.”
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