Months ago, AICC general secretary in-charge for Punjab Devender Yadav, told The Indian Express that they would fight the polls “on the front foot” with their stalwarts in the ring. True to his word, the party has fielded senior leaders such as state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring (Ludhiana), former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi (Jalandhar), ex-Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (Gurdaspur), and its panthic face Sukhpal Singh Khaira (Sangrur).

The Congress is hoping now that the anti-incumbency against the over two-year-old AAP government, which had come to power with sky-high expectations, will help it come close to a repeat of 2019. If the Congress had won eight seats then, the Akali Dal-BJP combine had won four, and the AAP one.

The fact that the AAP and Congress are partners in the INDIA bloc, and are fighting together in neighbouring Haryana and Delhi, has also made the Punjab contest interesting.

While Congress leaders in Punjab stoutly opposed an alliance with the AAP from the beginning, claiming of being “hounded” as part of the AAP’s “anti-corruption drive”, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa says the party had more pragmatic reasons as well. “We are the Opposition. Had we joined hands with the AAP, the entire anti-government vote would have gone to other parties. Also, the AAP would have taken many of our leaders.”

Already, several senior Congress leaders have moved to the AAP, including Raj Kumar Chhabewal and Gurpreet Singh G P, whom it has fielded from Hoshiarpur and Fatehgarh Sahib, respectively.

On the ground, there is visible discontent against the AAP, revolving largely around its “inaccessible” legislators and the continuing menace of drugs, a charge that the Congress government too faced in the past. At Sehna village near Barnala, Jagsir Singh Seera, zilla pradhan of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda), articulates the popular sentiment: “Local legislators like Labh Singh Ugoke neither answer calls nor meet the locals.”

In Barnala, two shopkeepers, Amarjit and Manjit Singh, complain that local MLA and minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer never even returned to thank voters after the 2022 Assembly win, while in Amritsar, a group of women too mention their two “missing” AAP legislators.

This may be a reason why most Congress candidates are banking on accessibility and personal connection to woo voters. In Amritsar, Gurjit Singh Aujla, who rose from being a councillor to a two-time MP, asks people to vote for him if they think he is always there for them. His words resonate on the street. Pankaj Passi, an employee of AU Small Finance Bank, says he is not voting for a party but for Aujla. “He is always there for us.”

Aware of the discontent over civic issues, Congress candidates are also focusing on local concerns. In speech after speech, Aujla, who shot to national fame when he ran to block those who set off coloured gas in Parliament in December 2023, slams poor sanitation and bad roads. “There has been no election for the Amritsar Municipal Corporation for two years. Why are they (the AAP) running scared?” he asks.

From playing in parks to praying at popular places of worship, Raja Warring and Channi, who are both fighting the “outsider” tag in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, respectively are frequenting crowded spots to touch base with as many locals as possible while raising community issues. Unlike in the past when candidates would go to Punjab voters with a single manifesto, each candidate is also rolling out separate, highly localised vision documents this time. Every seat has a different narrative. Khaira, who is pitted against SAD (A) president and sitting Sangrur MP Simranjeet Singh Mann, often emphasises the need to free the ‘Bandi Singhs’ or Sikh political prisoners.

Congress candidates are also capitalising on the “unkept promises” of the AAP government, including the Rs 1,000 monthly stipend to women, as well as the general disillusionment among voters after the “unrealistically high” expectations raised by the AAP.

As Harvinder Pal Singh, a commission agent from Mohammed village in Faridkot, puts it, “There is no AAP wave this time. I am disappointed by the slow pace of lifting wheat. What used to be done in a fortnight during the Congress regime is now taking over a month. Our commission too has been reduced.” He points to the heaps of wheat-filled sacks at the Kot Ise Khan Mandi.

But the “party of leaders”, as the Congress is referred to in a lighter vein in the state, is marred by infighting. Warring’s candidature is believed to have angered local ex-MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu. However, Warring, who often posts pictures of Ashu campaigning for him, says things are different. “We are fighting for survival, we are fighting for democracy, we have sunk our differences.”

There are some, such as communication professional Rohit Jindal from Bathinda, who warn that the Congress could lose pro-Ram temple urban votes to the BJP.

With the polls on June 1, the 40th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, the Congress is also under attack by both the Akali Dal and BJP for the operation and the violence and anti-Sikh riots that followed.

Party insiders, however, argue that old wounds have healed. “Rahul (Gandhi) spent considerable time at the Golden Temple doing sewa last year. The Punjab voters are very bright; they don’t blame us for the sins of the past,” a leader says.

Political observers such as Ashutosh Kumar from Panjab University, Chandigarh, say the Congress may have an upper hand, but it is by default. “The AAP is facing anti-incumbency, Akalis are still recovering, and the BJP is looking at the 2027 Assembly polls. Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded established leaders who will do their best to win.”

On the ground, there are speculations about a secret understanding between the Congress and AAP on seats such as Ludhiana, where the AAP has fielded a low-profile sitting MLA against the Congress’s Warring. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been slamming the contest between them as a sham.

Both parties dismiss the allegation, with AAP leaders pointing out that it had announced its candidates before the Congress, which did so in instalments.