SAD-BSP & AAP moving ahead full throttle in Gurdaspur

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, January 13

The SAD-BSP combine and AAP are moving full throttle as far as ground planning and campaigning is concerned even as the Congress, BJP and its allied party, the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), are still struggling to find its feet.

The Gurdaspur Vidhan Sabha constituency has nine Assembly seats. The SAD-BSP alliance has announced its candidates on all nine seats, while AAP has made public eight nominees. The Congress and the BJP-PLC are yet to announce their respective candidates.

AAP spokesman and Sri Hargobindpur candidate Amarpal Singh Kishenkot says all his party’s candidates are regularly in touch with their New Delhi-based handlers and “take advice on almost day to day basis.”

“Our detractors were misleading voters by saying that Arvind Kejriwal will be giving 300 units of electricity free per every billing cycle of two months. This is absolutely incorrect. The factual position is that we will be giving 300 units of free power per month. In Punjab, the billing cycle is of two months, which means our party, if voted to power, will give 600 units of free electricity. The SAD-BSP leaders are reaching out to villagers claiming Kejriwal had sold them a lie,” said Amarpal. Incidentally, Amarpal had bagged 29,000 votes in the 2017 poll from his seat.

AAP satraps can often be seen in teams of 5-10 in villages telling locals that if they or any of their kin fall sick, their party will provide free treatment in government hospitals. SAD chief Sukhbir Badal has already toured five Assembly seats last month.

“He will be touring the remaining seats soon,” said Guriqbal Singh Mahal, party candidate from Qadian. AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, too, has toured as many as four seats. Sources say that in the absence of rallies and gatherings, Kejriwal will be canvassing door to door with his candidates in tow.

“We have chalked up elaborate plans for his next visit,” said Kishenkot. A senior Congress leader admitted that round one has been won by AAP and the SAD-BSP combine. “Both Congress and BJP-PLC are yet to announce their candidates and till that is done, we cannot move forward. If infighting among our leaders is proving to be an impediment in naming nominees, the BJP-PLC are still in talks over seat-sharing. There are certain urban seats which the BJP wants to contest but Amarinder Singh says he wants these seats. Everything is in a flux,” he said.

An interesting feature being seen this time is that leaders are focusing on local issues rather than state or national-level issues. “If we touch issues which are close to voters, we are sure to connect with them in a better way. In any case, national issues hold no relevance in Assembly poll,” said a BJP leader. “This time the elections are going to be interesting with five parties in the fray. Consequently, the margins will be narrow,” said Manjinder Singh Dala, a law student and a first time voter.

"I will cast my vote with utmost caution this time. In the last two Assembly elections, I did vote, but am feeling cheated because no party stood up to my expectations," said Upma Mahajan, Principal of a school in Dinanagar.

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