Akali Dal-BJP set to lose in Badal-Amarinder battle

The ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab is contesting election 2009 with its back to the wall and it looks well nigh impossible that the combine will retain its 2004 tally of 11 seats.

With anti-incumbency gaining ground in the past two years, it will be a fierce contest of wits between Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Congress campaign in-charge Amarinder Singh.

For Sukhbir, who assumed the office of deputy chief minister soon after becoming party president, it would be a litmus test. He has chief minister-father Parkash Singh Badal’s critical support, but the credit or discredit for the election outcome will go to him. His aggression was demonstrated in panchayat and civic elections last year, but it did not win him many friends. Rather, it reflected blatant misuse of muscle power.

Amarinder is spearheading the Congress attack on the alliance. His increasing popularity has become a major cause of concern for the Akalis and he is expected to match Sukhbir’s aggression. As he has succeeded in getting tickets for most of his supporters, the election is clearly shaping up as an Amarinder-Badal fight, with the former at advantage.

The BJP’s celebrity candidates Vinod Khanna and Navjot Sidhu are finding the going tough. Prolonged absence from constituencies Gurdaspur and Amritsar has left their supporters annoyed.