The margin of Congress’ winning candidates dipped considerably in the 2019 parliamentary elections compared to 2014.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party, sort of, stormed the Congress bastion by winning four out of nine assembly segments falling in Jalandhar parliamentary constituency in the last assembly polls. Though Congress continues to term it as vendetta politics, as many as three of its cabinet minister Sunder Sham Arora, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, were arrested by the vigilance bureau in alleged cases of disproportionate assets.Ī string of exodus after former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh joined the Bharatiya Janta Party is said to have further weakened the party at the grassroots. Moreover, most of its former cabinet ministers and former MLAs are facing vigilance probes due to corruption allegations and allegedly having disproportionate assets gathered during their tenure from 2017-2022.

The party is going through a credibility crisis in the state, especially following its defeat in the 2022 assembly elections. However, this time around, the challenges before the Punjab Congress are daunting. The Jalandhar by-polls are being dubbed to be a crucial electoral battle for the political outfits before the showdown in the 2024 general elections. Supporters of Congress holding a huge flag. Even though the Congress party has remained undefeated in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha elections since 1999, it is not going to be a cakewalk for it in coming by-elections.

Cakewalk free