Polls 2012: Complacency, rebels spoiled Congress chances in Punjab

Sheer over confidence and complacency have proved to be the Congress doom in Punjab. Harping largely on anti-incumbency, the party awaited a cake walk for itself in the state as had been an electoral norm in the past, little realising that Sukhbir Badal and his seasoned father Parkash Singh Badal made a potent combination to make the Congress candidates bite the dust.

If on the one hand the Congress was out-witted by the diligence and sagacity of the Badal duo, the ticket distribution of the party has been no less lopsided. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi pitted as many as six candidates from his coterie sidelining the traditional Congress leaders.

Five of them stood defeated in the face of widespread resentment from within the party. The Congress also made a poor start by changing candidates at four seats and thus giving a signal of uncertainty. At all the four seats where it changed the candidates, the party lost badly as the rebel Congress candidates spoiled chances of official candidates.

The Congress campaign against the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance dismally lacked the sting as the party leaders failed to articulate issues on which they could attack the government. While the party leaders failed to make a wave out of anti-incumbency, they could neither pin down the ruling alliance on development and governance matters.

PCC president Amarinder Singh, the only popular face of the party in the state, owned moral responsibility of the defeat, though he said he did not agree that the Congress was complacent. He incidentally had informed Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that the Congress would win 70 seats. His misplaced optimism was also reflected in the meetings he had with union finance minister and Governor to deliberate on post-result situation.