Congress Faces Defeat In Punjab

Political and official circles in Punjab are hotly debating whether the ruling Congress party will be routed in the coming assembly elections, scheduled for February 6.

Pointing to the sorry state of affairs in the party, independent observers have not ruled out such a possibility. Even some Congress leaders themselves have, in private, admitted that the party may suffer a total defeat.

With just 30 days left for the polls, the Congress camp is visibly shaky. The party's nervousness was, in fact, amply demonstrated on the very day the election commission announced the assembly polls. Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who is leading the Congress re-election campaign, wrote to the commission asking it to reconsider its decision on the date of the polls (February 6).

However, the election commission refused to listen to her pleas and postpone the polls.

Bhattal has also been harping on the issues of security and law & order in this border state.

In stark contrast to the Congress, the formidable Akali-BJP alliance has welcomed the election commission's decision to hold the Punjab assembly election on February 6.

Akali supremo Parkash Singh Badal has issued a two-page statement praising the election commission's decision.

Unlike the visibly disturbed Bhattal, Badal who has already served as Punjab chief minister twice