Punjab elections | If Channi had become CM two years sooner, Congress would have given better results, says Manpreet Badal

With Channi’s elevation as Chief Minister, there’s a new spirit in the Punjab Congress, says Manpreet Badal

, the longest-serving Finance Minister of Punjab, speaks to The Hindu’s between public meetings at his constituency Bhatinda, on the Congress’s electoral prospects in the upcoming State Assembly elections; the binary between the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government and the three-month-long government led by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi; and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the opponent.

That, only an astrologer can tell. I have fought seven elections out of which I won five and lost two. The ones which I won, I didn’t know I was winning, and the ones that I lost, I didn’t know that I was losing. So, I am a poor judge of polls. I am not sure where we stand. But my own feeling is that the people of Punjab trust the Congress party. Also, with Charanjit Singh Channi’s elevation as Chief Minister, there is a new spirit in the party. People adore his simplicity. In the last five years, the Congress has been able to deliver in terms of basic infrastructure in both villages and the cities. This time, there is a multi-cornered contest. The contest is between pro-Congress and anti-Congress votes. The anti-Congress vote can be divided in two or three parties, the more the merrier. But I feel we stand a fair chance.

Both are Congress governments and I have served as Finance Minister under both the Chief Ministers. The Congress worker felt distanced from the government because of Captain saheb’s style of functioning and his inaccessibility. He was running the government through remote control.