Faridkot ready for battle of the ballot

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 18

For the 1,613 polling stations set up for the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat, that includes the four districts of Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar and Bathinda, the polling teams were dispatched by the District Electoral Officer Kumar Saurav Raj on Saturday.

A total of 20 candidates, including Gulzar Singh Ranike of the SAD (B), Mohammad Sadique of the Congress, Prof Sadhu Singh of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), sitting MP and Master Baldev Singh of Punjab Ekta Party, are contesting the election on Faridkot (SC reserve) seat.

Of the 1,613 polling stations in four districts, comprising nine assembly segments of Faridkot Lok Sabha seat, 483 police stations have been set up in Faridkot district where 4,64,939 voters will exercise their right to franchise on Sunday.

Besides the nine model polling booths, three polling booths have been established specially for women voters. Besides nearly 2,000 government employees on polling duty on Sunday, over 1,500 police and Central security force personnel are on election duty in this Lok Sabha constituency, said Kumar Saurav Raj.

In the triangular fight between SAD(B), Congress and AAP for the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat, a total of 15,35,716 voters, including 7,23,538 women and 6,255 service voters, are going to exercise their franchise on Sunday.

While Ranike, the SAD (B) candidate, is facing the charge of being an outsider and is getting lukewarm support from the local leaders in fighting the blame for the sacrilege issue on his party, Prof Sadhu Singh too is not finding the going smooth, because of the charge of being inaccessible during the last five years levelled against him.

Mohammad Sadique of the Congress, a famous Punjabi folk singer, is however comfortable in comparison to the AAP and Akali candidates.

The AAP candidate, a post-graduate in English, harps on his qualification in comparison to the Congress and SAD (B) candidates who are primary school pass-outs.