Jagbir Brar doesn't believe in roadshows

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, February 17

The first thing after his 6-ft height that amazes you about Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Jagbir Brar is his style of speaking and interacting with the public. Unlike other politicians, he isn’t very loud and don’t address the gatherings just to ask for votes, rather he’s involved in a two-way communication process. He’s giving equal time to the voters to talk about the development they want.

Saying he believes in face-to-face interactions, Brar is relying mostly on traditional mode of campaigning i.e. holding public meetings and door-to-door visits. He said he hasn’t held a single roadshow as it renders inconvenience to the people and causes unnecessary traffic jams.

He said he addresses nearly 18 public meetings daily. At precisely 8 am, he starts off from his home and winds up the outdoor campaigning by 8 pm but his meetings at his residence continue till 11 pm. This has been going on for the past six months.

“As my name was announced in August, therefore, I started my ground work at the same moment and by now we have covered almost every village and locality in the constituency,” he said.

While addressing the residents of NRI Colony at Khusropur village in Jalandhar Cantt, Brar first asked them to list down the issues they are facing as of now and what development they wish to see in the near future. After listening the list of issues from the residents, Brar said the situation in the locality was completely opposite of what its name suggests. “The streets are broken, no sewerage pipes have been laid and there are no streetlights in the area, yet it is NRI Colony.”

The residents then showed him the street which remains kutcha even after so many years. They informed him that their repeated pleas have fallen on deaf ears to which he assured that he’ll take up the matter and solve all issues within six to eight months after winning the seat.

He then visited Station Colony Jamsher, where he addressed the people saying his agenda for the poll remains focused on development issues. He said for the last 10 years, the constituency has been grappling with issues such as poor sewerage system, garbage dumps, and broken roads and among other issues. “Strong infrastructure, better health and education facilities are other major issues that we plan to work on,” he shared.

He also shared copies of his election manifesto with the voters and promised that security cameras will be installed in different parts of the constituency. He said public parking would be constructed next to the Model Town market. Proper management will be provided to the civil dispensary next to the Mayor’s house in Model Town market and health facilities in the villages to be improved.

Besides, he laid emphasised on the Shiromani Akali Dal’s promise of giving health and education cards to the residents, which promises easy education loans to the youngsters and health insurance for all age groups.