With non-resident Indians showing a marked preference for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party in next year’s Punjab assembly polls, the Congress is now planning to send its senior leaders abroad to woo the influential diaspora.

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh, his wife Preneet Kaur, an MLA from Patiala, and a host of state leaders will soon fan out to different parts of the globe to connect with the Punjabi community living abroad. The United States of America, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are among the countries identified for this outreach programme.

While the Congress leaders are still firming up their travel plans, the party’s rivals – the Shiromani Akali Dal and the AAP – have a clear head start. A number of Akali leaders have already touched base with the Punjabi diaspora in the United States and Canada while AAP Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann has also travelled to Canada to press his party’s case with the diaspora there with an eye on the Punjab assembly election in 2017.

The diaspora effect

Senior Congress leaders, associated with the Punjab election campaign, hope that Amarinder Singh’s widespread international network will help the party in winning over the non-resident Indian community and changing their perception about their party.

Both the Congress and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal were taken aback when the NRIs opened their purse strings for the fledgling AAP in the 2014 general election. Kejriwal’s party further stumped them by winning four Lok Sabha seats from Punjab with the NRI community making a major contribution to this surprise victory.

The Congress felt compelled to despatch its leaders on this mission after it realised that the influential Punjabi diaspora is betting big on the AAP.

Far from being disenchanted with the AAP over the last two years, the Punjabi diaspora continues to be enamoured with it as the NRIs believe the new party promises a fresh break from the established parties which, they believe, have become jaded. Not only are the NRIs campaigning for Kejriwal’s party, they are also raising funds for it.

Congress general secretary Ambika Soni, who heads the party’s Punjab election campaign committee, maintained that the NRI community plays a key role in the state polls, particularly in the Doaba region which includes Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara and Phillaur. She said improved communication and the growing use of social media has enabled the diaspora to remain connected with their home state.

“They are constantly in touch with their relatives back home and wield considerable influence on them, “ Soni said.

Known as the NRI-hub of Punjab, because of the large-scale migration which has taken place from the Doaba region, this belt is also crucial as the scheduled castes form nearly 35% of the population here.

The spoiler

Once considered the core constituency of the Congress, the scheduled castes are showing distinct signs of shifting their loyalties to the AAP. This spells serious trouble for the Congress which explains why the grand old party has to make a concerted effort to retain its hold in the Doaba region.

Given the anti-incumbency faced by the two-term Akali government because of the growing lawlessness in the state and the drug menace, the 2017 assembly election should have been a cakewalk for the Congress. However, the bipolar polity in Punjab has been disturbed with the emergence of the AAP. Kejriwal has been greeted by huge crowds of supporters on his recent tours to Punjab as he seeks to tap into their desire for a change from the established political parties.

“The AAP has succeeded in projecting itself as an honest, clean party in comparison to the Akali Dal and the Congress,” remarked a Punjab Congress leader. “They are portraying both the parties as two sides of the same coin, both mired in corruption with poor track record in governance.”

The Congress is naturally worried over reports about the AAP’s growing popularity despite the fact that it does not have a chief ministerial face. The Punjab election is critical for the Congress as the party’s revival plans depend on its performance here.

The Congress will be in deep trouble if the AAP does well in Punjab. Kejriwal will then be emboldened to spread his wings to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana where the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are locked in a direct fight. The AAP believes Punjab will prove there is space for a third alternative in these states. The emergence of a third party or regional players in a bipolar polity has always hurt the Congress as seen in the case of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha. A desperate Congress is trying to put its house in order. It is trying to stamp out infighting in its state unit and has roped in political strategist Prashant Kishor to steer its campaign. And now it is making a serious bid to woo the Punjabi diaspora.