Punjabi ‘tadka’ spices up poll curry

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 30

The battle for Delhi may be a direct contest between Narendra Modi’s men and Arvind Kejriwal’s rookies, but it is the political fight among Punjabis away from Punjab that has given it a true Punjabi ‘tadka’ (flavour).

Once a stronghold of the Punjabi community, both Sikhs and Hindus who ruled the national capital once for a few days in the 18th century under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, many political warriors and knights from Punjab are displaying their vote-gathering skills, management, oration and following.

The Akalis, Congress and the AAP have renewed their old rivalry for the battle here. With Kiran Bedi, the CM candidate for the BJP hailing from Amritsar, Punjabi voters have assumed a bigger influence.

Earlier, Chief Ministers Madan Lal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma too had Punjabi roots. The Congress campaign committee chairman Ajay Maken too has Punjabi roots.

Neighbouring state Haryana is adding spice to the chief ministerial contest with AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal hailing from Haryana.

Led by Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia, tall and strapping young men of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) dressed mostly in Muktsari white kurta-pyjama, but some donning branded jeans as well, are going from door to door. The entire Akali rank and file is here, including all ministers or any leader worth his salt.

The Akali leadership and cadre can be clearly distinguished by the swanky Fortuner cars they travel in.

“Most of the Punjabis, whether Sikhs or Hindus, are directly or indirectly related to someone in Punjab. They have their roots in the state and like to be in touch,” said Bikram Majithia, for whose career a favourable result in the elections would mean a lot after he was caught in unsavoury controversies.

“The Punjabis here want peace and development in Punjab. The SAD-BJP partnership is seen as a recipe for communal harmony. With the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, we are seeking votes on the plank of development,” he said.

Nearly 6,000-7,000 Akali workers and leaders have descended on the scene. They are targeting the Punjabi population directly or through their relatives based in Punjab.

Bunty Romana, co-ordinator, Youth Wing, SAD, and Rosy Barkandi, president, Malwa zone, are camping with their team in Rajouri Garden, the seat from which SAD’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa is contesting on the Akali symbol.

Three other Akali leaders are contesting on the BJP symbol. They are Harmeet Singh Kalka from Kalkaji, Jitenderpal Singh Shanty from Shahdara and Avtar Singh Hit from Harinagar.

The Congress too has attached importance to leaders with Punjabi roots. Besides Ajay Maken, the Congress state president is Arvinder Singh Lovely, a Sikh whose mother belongs to Ranjitgarh village in Muktsar. Though senior Punjab Congress leaders like Capt Amarinder Singh and Partap Singh Bajwa are yet to campaign, MLA Fatehgarh Sahib Kuljit Nagra is the party’s election in charge.

“Punjabis have dominated Delhi politics for long. Though the influence has decreased over the years, Punjabis and issues of Punjab still weigh a lot,” Kuljit Nagra said.

“Punjabi candidates have influence in constituencies where they have a sizable population but a Punjabi Sikh, Prahlad Singh Sahni, won from Chandi Chowk, despite the Punjabi population being less than 1 per cent there,” he said.

AAP also has leaders and volunteers from Punjab. MP Bhagwant Singh Mann is campaigning aggressively for Punjabi and Sikh candidates. Sucha Singh Chotepur from Gurdaspur, who lost the parliamentary elections, has also been camping here for the past many days.