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The political temperature in Punjab politics has suddenly increased regarding the upcoming assembly elections 2027. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has formally sounded the trumpet of the party’s election campaign by setting foot on the soil of Punjab today on 4th November. Rahul Gandhi has started his campaign not with an ordinary public meeting but through an aggressive ‘Justice Rally’. The most interesting thing for political experts is that the Congress high command has chosen Sangrur district, the center point of Malwa region, to launch this huge campaign. The decision to choose Sangrur is not just a simple strategic move but is directly linked to the deep regional electoral equations of the state and the bitter local disputes arising against the current Aam Aadmi Party government. This rally in Sangrur seems to be a part of a well-planned plan to infuse new enthusiasm among the Congress workers in the political scenario of Punjab and corner the ruling party in its strongest bastion.
The route to power in Punjab always passes through the vast plains of Malwa and the Congress leadership is fully aware of this ground reality. Rahul Gandhi has started this from Malwa with the aim of preparing the ground for the 2027 assembly elections. The main objective of this entire event is to establish Malwa at the center of Congress’s ‘Mission 2027’. Along with this, the aim is to re-unite the party organization which had disintegrated in the last assembly elections and to create all-round pressure on the government by raising sensitive issues related to the public at the local level. The huge crowd gathered in Sangrur and the presence of top party leaders clearly shows that this time Congress is in no mood to be lax at any level and wants to strengthen its presence among the people much before the elections.
The biggest reason for Sangrur being selected for this election campaign is the huge public anger that has erupted here in recent times. For the last few weeks, Sangrur district has become the main center of voices being raised against the uncontrolled drug trade and alleged police excesses in Punjab. In this entire incident, the suspicious death of Gulzar Singh, a resident of Toor Banjara village under Dirba assembly constituency, has created a stir in the politics of the state. Gulzar Singh had recently asked a direct and sharp question to Punjab Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during a public program as to how drugs were being sold openly in his village and how his own son became a drug addict right under the nose of the administration. After the video of this sharp question went viral on social media, suddenly the news of Gulzar Singh’s death came out which shook the entire area.
The situation arising after the death of Gulzar Singh has raised serious questions on the functioning of the state government and local administration. The opposition parties directly allege that the common citizens who ask questions to the leaders of the ruling party and openly raise their voice against drug smugglers are being harassed. This sensitive issue has brought the entire opposition of Punjab together on one platform. Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party and various farmers and social organizations have together staged massive protests against this incident. Rahul Gandhi, keeping his finger on the pulse of this burning issue, prepared the platform for justice rally in Sangrur so that he could stand with the victim’s family and make drug de-addiction and administrative accountability the biggest election issue across the state.
If judged on the basis of election data, Malwa region of Punjab is the largest and decisive political area of the state. Of the total 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly, Malwa region alone accounts for 69 seats, which is approximately 59 percent of the total seats. If we understand the geographical and political structure of Punjab, then the state is mainly divided into three regions. Malwa has 69 assembly seats, while the Majha region has 25 seats and the Doaba region has 23 seats. This simple arithmetic makes it clear that whichever political party wants to form its government in Punjab, it will have to conquer this huge fort of Malwa. Without making a decisive advance in Malwa, no party can reach power in Chandigarh.
This is the main reason why the Congress party decided to start its campaign directly from Malwa instead of Majha or Doaba. In the 2022 assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party registered a historic victory in this Malwa belt and completely demolished the old forts of Congress and Akali Dal. Sangrur itself has been the home district and political battlefield of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from where he was also MP twice. In such a situation, standing in the Chief Minister’s home district and attacking the government’s policies is an attempt to gain a psychological edge. Congress wants to send the message that it is fully prepared to fight a direct political battle in the area where the opposition party has the strongest influence.
If we turn the page of the political history of Punjab, Malwa has always been considered the key to power. Most of the Chief Ministers who have held the reins of Punjab in the last three decades have emerged from the soil of Malwa. From Prakash Singh Badal, Captain Amarinder Singh, Charanjit Singh Channi to the current Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the political base of all has been Malwa region. Malwa is not only big in terms of number of seats but it has also been the birthplace of the state’s biggest farmer movements, political revolutions and social changes. Apart from Sangrur, big districts like Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana, Mansa, Faridkot, Moga and Ferozepur are part of this region which decides the economic and social direction of entire Punjab.
This rally of Rahul Gandhi has sounded the bugle of the election season of 2027 long ago. The Congress Party knows very well that if the resentment spread among farmers, laborers and youth in rural areas is not converted into political support in time, it will be difficult to make a comeback later. Through Sangrur’s Insaaf Rally, Congress has not only tried to put local issues on the national platform but has also tried to prove that it is standing at the forefront in the fight for the rights and justice of the common people. In the coming days, it will be interesting to see how much new life this Malwa bet of Rahul Gandhi brings to the Congress in the politics of Punjab.