Campaigning reaches a crescendo as D-Day nears

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, May 28

With campaigning for the elections entering its last leg, all candidates in fray for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat have hit the streets. They have intensified roadshows and door-to-door canvassing to reach out to the masses. In their desperate bid, they are not even holding back from launching personal attacks against their rivals.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal is all set to hold a roadshow in favour of his party candidate Anil Joshi tomorrow.

BJP candidate Taranjit Singh Sandhu held two roadshows today. Similarly, he is likely to hold at least four roadshows on the remaining two days of campaigning. Rumours are strong in the BJP camp that either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or party president JP Nadda may come to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple before the election scheduled here for June 1.

Since Aujla has been elected from the Amritsar seat twice, all Opposition leaders are launching tirades against him. They are accusing him of failing to find a solution to the problem of Tung Dhab drain, passing near his home and failing to prevent the shifting of AIIMS from Amritsar to Bathinda.

Opposition candidates are blaming the BJP for stopping cross-border trade with Pakistan from the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari.

Similarly, they are castigating the AAP for its failure to give Rs 1,000 per month to women, uninterrupted power supply and not fulfilling other poll promises.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Ghanshyam Thori said as per the instructions of the Election Commission, the silence period during which no canvassing is allowed would begin from tomorrow evening (May 29) and radio, television, cinema, social media, including bulk SMS or pre-recorded SMS messages, will not be allowed to circulate from 6 pm on May 30.

He said according to the standard operating procedure (SOP), as soon as the deadline for campaigning is over, no TV, radio, social media channels will be allowed to run advertisements or similar programmes for the promotion of any party.

He said political parties and candidates participating in the election process can publish their advertisements in newspapers on May 31 and June 1 only after prior approval of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee.

District Magistrate Ghanshyam Thori, exercising his powers vested under Section 144 of the CrPC prohibited the gathering of five or more persons, protest rallies, dharnas, meetings, raising slogans, demonstrations in both rural and urban areas of the district. The order will remain effective from May 30 at 6 pm till the end of polling at 6 pm on June 1.