Shahkot by-election in Punjab was caused by the death of an Akali former minister Ajit Singh Kohar. In order to cash in on sympathy wave, the Akali supremo allotted the party ticket to Naib Singh Kohar, son of the deceased. Of course, sympathy was there. The Congress reposed confidence in a rich farmer and local sand mining satrap Hardev Singh Laadi Sherowalia. The Akalis enjoyed initial advantage. Their leadership had the deepest pockets and money makes the mare go. They were getting excellent response, and this was partly due to the feeling of overawe generated by the perception of their power and pelf created over a period of a decade.

Then the ruling party injected all the ministers into the campaign. They worked day and night like never before. They visited riverine areas near the notorious bed of the polluted Sutlej. This area is famous for illicit distillation of liquor and was heavily patronized by the deceased leader. So far, the Congress was alien to this stronghold of SAD. Some positive response was noticed.

The team of ministers fanned out in every nook and corner of the constituency. One minister Balbir Singh Sidhu spent two weeks in the campaign. The Akali leadership started poaching the gullible former leaders of AAP. Virtually the entire former leadership of AAP was in the SAD camp. The wealthy strong arm SAD leadership fished for some Congress leaders too, but the traffic became two- way. The campaign was neck and neck and was giving sleepless nights.

Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was sidelined for a long time. Then some leaders from the Majha Region suggested the induction of Sidhu into the campaign. The strategy worked. Navjot Singh Sidhu campaigned for three days. In his aggressive style he exposed all the weak points of the most powerful brothers in law in Punjab. He highlighted how this family monopolized the TV in Punjab through PTC and Fastway. How the big boss monopolized the transport business by owning 800 luxury buses, like Mercedes Benz European built integrated coaches. He fully exposed how the liquor trade was exploited for financial gains by the previous government. He also explained the phenomena of sand mining for enrichment of the very rich.

In three days of campaigning by Navjot Singh Sidhu, the tide was completely reversed. The Congress campaign was upbeat. The leaders were relaxed, the battle was almost won.

As an icing on the cake the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, on the last day of campaigning, conducted a day long road show on the pot-holed dusty roads of Shahkot constituency. And that is the way it was, the Congress getting 82000 votes trounced SAD by 39000 votes.

(The author can be reached at harjapaujla@gmail.com)