With a fortnight left before Anandpur Sahib goes to polls, of which Mohali and Kharar are parts, the candidates of national political parties are putting in their best efforts to woo the voters.
Opening election offices, holding corner meetings and rallies of senior leaders among other things are keeping the nominees on their toes these days. Besides the electorate and party workers, the candidates are also indulging the media by resorting to dinner diplomacies.
Though Anandpur Sahib is heading for a direct contest between the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and CPI (M) nominees Kewal Krishan Chouhan and Mahan Singh Rauri, respectively, are also leaving no stone unturned to put up their best show of strength in the constituency.
After much effort, SAD nominee Dr Daljit Singh Cheema finally managed to rope in rival party factions headed by late Punjab Cooperation Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh’s son Jasjit Singh Bunny, All India Youth Akali Dal president Kiranbir Singh Kang and Mohali city SAD president Harsukhinder Singh Bubby Badal, to counter the united front of Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu.
With former Punjab Minister Jagmohan Singh Kang at the helm of affairs as chairman of the election campaign committee, the Congress nominee is taking along Kharar MLA Balbir Sidhu, Akali-turned-Congress leader Rajbir Singh Padiala, former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s close aide Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha and other party leaders to muster support.
Meanwhile, SAD got a shot in the arm with former Kharar Congress MLA Bir Devinder Singh joining the party on Tuesday.
While the rival factions of the Congress have buried their differences for the sake of slain Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, whose grandson Bittu is one of three youth candidates fielded by the party in Punjab, SAD president Sukhbir Badal and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal are instrumental in pushing their rival party factions to come out in support of Cheema, who is Advisor to the CM besides being the SAD secretary and spokesperson.
Cheema is playing the development card by comparing the present regime in Punjab and the Centre with that of previous governments headed by Capt Amarinder Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee, respectively. Bittu, on the other hand, is harping on the anti-incumbency factor against SAD-BJP government and achievements of the outgoing UPA government led by the Congress.
Both first-timers and outsiders, Bittu and Cheema are considered to be “prestigious” candidates for their parties with the honour and repute of their respective party heads at stake.
While Bittu is hopeful of Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders hitting the ground for him soon, Cheema is persuading his mentors — the Badals — to include Anandpur Sahib in the itinerary of BJP leadership being prepared for electioneering in Punjab.
Posted By Staff Reporter
in Punjab News
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