By-polls: A maha relief for Amarinder Singh

KAPURTHALA/JALANDHAR: The support of logistics and the split in the BSP and BJP helped Congress win the by-elections in Kapurthala and Garhshankar.
At Kapurthala, Sukhjinder Kaur Rana of the Congress won by a margin of 13,600 votes while Luv Kumar Goldy won by a margin of 18,080 votes in Garhshankar.
The words of Muggowal village sarpanch Sansar Singh (a BSP leader) proved prophetic.
"We did not accept the way Shinghara Ram Sahoongra was expelled from the party. Now the BSP is divided. What can we expect from a weakened and truncated BSP. We would rather throw our lot behind the Congress," he had told TNN on September 27 at Garhshankar.
But few could guess that the over 28,000 strong Dalit vote bank would witness such a total erosion.
Political observers feel that the Dalits were moving back to the Congress, especially with the party coming to power at the Centre, supported by the Left.
The second factor behind the Congress win was the weakened BJP with an outsider being given the ticket.
With the Congress candidate being a Pandit and belonging to a trusted traditional Congress family, the BJP vote of Pandits shifted back to the Congress.
Another argument that worked was the repeated reminders by Congress leaders that they were ruling in the state as well as at the Centre.
The victory has elevated Rana Gurjit Singh to the status of hero. Responsible for the party''s campaign, he set up a hierarchy of commands.
Response forms handed out to the workers at the beginning. Girls who had got married and had moved out of the constituency were brought home to cast their vote.
The ''dead'' were also standing in the queues. Damage-control teams were set up to find out where and why voters were disenchanted. Rumour mills also played their role.
A rumour was spread in wards No. 7 and 8, and parts of 6 that the Akalis were associated with terrorists and if they came to power, the largely Hindu population of these wards may have to leave the state.
With this win a kaleidoscopic change of patterns is expected within the Congress in Punjab and a new power axis is likely to emerge.