Chandigarh: Jakhar promised to raise, in Parliament, the issues of GST, unemployment and special incentives/package, equivalent to the hilly states, for the border areas of Punjab, including Gurdaspur. He also promised to resolve local issues in the nine assembly segments of the region with the help of the state government. Skill development would be taken up on priority to address the problem of unemployment, he added. 

Capt Amarinder Singh, while vowing to implement the government’s farm loan waiver scheme with or without the central government’s support, lashed out at AAP for issuing baseless statements on the issue of stubble burning and said the party, which had come down to 2% of the votes in the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll, would soon be reduced to 0%. 

He pointed out that AAP’s Sucha Singh Chhotepur had in 2014 LS election polled 173376 votes but the same party had now been reduced to just 23579 votes, with its candidate even losing his security deposit.

 Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister congratulated the Congress nominee from Gurdaspur, Sunil Jakhar, along with party workers and people, for the record victory, which marked a total collapse of AAP. Jakhar, on his part, compared the poll result to the Chikmaglur victory of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which marked the revival of the Congress party in the late 1970s. 

Attributing the relatively low voter turnout to the ongoing paddy season, currently in full swing, Captain Amarinder said the Gurdaspur by-election result underlined the downfall of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and further strengthened the Congress party’s reverse trend which began with the latter’s sweep in various university students’ union elections. 

Citing the Congress victory in Maharashtra civic polls as well in Kerala by-poll, the Chief Minister expressed the hope that the Congress would do well in the forthcoming Himachal Pradesh assembly polls. 

While the Gurdaspur result reflected the impact of GST and demonetization, it also showed that the people were fed of the Akalis, whose leaders including Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, had been campaigning in the LS constituency in support of the BJP candidate, said Captain Amarinder.

The Chief Minister denied the opposition charges of use of government machinery in support of Jakhar and said unity in the Congress had ensured that every member of the party came out to campaign.