New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) Former law minister Ashwani Kumar on Friday said the switching of loyalties by seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs to the BJP shows that the ruling party at the Centre is not an outcast and this split could be a contributing factor in yielding a fractured mandate in the Punjab assembly polls.
In a statement after the defection of seven AAP MPs, Kumar said the development has once again demonstrated the BJP’s capacity for deft political moves and harnessing the factors of power to its advantage.
With seven out of ten AAP Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab joining the BJP, the politics of Punjab is in for a tectonic change, he said.
Kumar said while there is no immediate threat to the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, the addition of seven more Rajya Sabha members from the bordering state to its kitty is a significant morale-booster for the BJP which has succeeded in establishing its presence across the state in the last few years.
“The recent development will strengthen the party (BJP) in the perception of the people and enhance its negotiating leverage for a possible pre-poll alliance with the Akalis for the assembly elections barely ten months away. Prominent leaders from other parties may also follow suit given the increasing dissidence in the Congress and Akali ranks.
“Raghav Chadha is likely to be presented by the BJP as its new leadership face to woo the urban electorate, with Ravneet Bittu as its face for the Sikh peasantry,” he said.
“The development has once again demonstrated the BJP’s capacity for deft political moves and harnessing the factors of power to its advantage. The shifting of loyalties of Rajya Sabha members also shows that the BJP is not a pariah party in the state,” the former Union minister said.
Kumar said the incremental addition to its strength in the Rajya Sabha will strengthen its position to push its ‘One nation one poll’ agenda and the Women’s reservation law.
“In due course, the possibility of more additions to its ranks in the Rajya Sabha from other states cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Within AAP, the position of Bhagwant Mann will be strengthened as he is today the only Punjab leader of the party who has caught the imagination of the people, particularly in rural Punjab, the former Congress leader said.
“The increasing visibility and presence of the BJP in the state is a cause of worry for the Congress whose vote bank amongst the urban Hindus could substantially shift to the BJP. The Akali Dal which has managed to at least partially revive itself will need to reassess its options.
“While ten months is a long time in politics, the next assembly election in the state is likely to yield a fractured mandate and the split in AAP could be a contributing factor,” the former minister for law and justice said. PTI SKC SKC KSS KSS
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