Doaba's Valentine date with three big names

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, February 14

It being Valentine’s Day today, it was supposed to be a cool and romantic day for most couples. But it turned out to be a politically very heavy day for the Doabites with bigwigs of the three main national political parties in the region.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in support of NDA candidates at PAP grounds in Jalandhar, AICC leader Rahul Gandhi was at Roshan ground in Hoshiarpur this afternoon. Likewise, Aam Aadmi party supremo Arvind Kejriwal held rallies in Phagwara, Sham Chaurasi and other places.

Modi’s rally at PAP grounds started around 4 pm and owing to his visit, a large area of Jalandhar had been sealed since yesterday morning. Even though the PM’s aircraft was to land at Adampur from where he was to reach the venue directly by chopper, the roads around the venue were sanitised as a part of the contingency plan. One side of the Guru Nanakpura road, Chugitti flyover and the NH1 were sanitised and partially closed and the commuters had to use the other side of the lane.

Modi’s high-powered rally has certainly charged up the local candidates of the BJP, SAD (Sanyukt) and Punjab Lok Congress, but the biggest fillip has perhaps come to ex-minister and the BJP candidate from Jalandhar Central, Manoranjan Kalia, who had a special mention in the speech.

Modi took his name and called him a deserving candidate for the post of Deputy CM during the SAD-BJP alliance rule in the state. Modi said Kalai was denied the chance as then CM Parkash Singh Badal chose his son Sukhbir Badal for the post. It became a huge talking point for the BJP followers and the Jalandharites, who were reportedly overwhelmed at the PM remembering the incident dating back to 2007.

The rally of Rahul Gandhi in Hoshiarpur, too, was equally impressive and gave a big boost to the Hoshiarpur Congress MLA Sunder Sham Arora. The rally had the presence of other senior Congress leaders also, including PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu, ex-PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar, AICC leaders Tajinder Bittu and others.

Arora even handed over a landscape of Punjab scene with Hoshiarpur’s special wood inlay work to Rahul Gandhi. The key point remained that while Sidhu, who refused to address a rally of Priyanka Gandhi at Dhuri yesterday, gave a bombastic speech today and even praised Rahul for picking Dalit CM for the party. Since Dalits have a huge votebank in the region and Sidhu’s praise for the choice of the CM face, in which he himself had been race, in the last days of poll-bound state will surely help the party to some extent.

The roadshow of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, too, remained quite impressive in Phagwara and Sham Chaurasi. Kejriwal reached Phagwara this afternoon and addressed the party workers and supporters from the rooftop of his car seated along with AAP’s Phagwara candidate Joginder Singh Maan. Kejriwal was received near Gandhi Chowk and appealed to the voters to give one chance to AAP for stability, communal harmony, prosperity and peace of the state.

Alleging that different political parties, including the Congress, BJP and SAD, are offering money etc to the voters, Kejriwal advised the voters to take money from these parties, but vote only for AAP. He said the party would work with the Centre on issues of national security if it is voted to power in the upcoming Punjab election.

Stressing that the AAP never compromises on national security issues, he said: “If voted to power in Punjab, will work together with the Centre on the issue of security in Punjab and the country.” Kejriwal said the leaders of these parties feared that if the AAP comes to power, their loot will stop permanently.

Campaigning for Dr Ravjot Singh in Sham Chaurasi and Brahm Shankar Jimpa in Hoshiarpur, the Delhi Chief Minister said every vote of Sham Chaurasi and Hoshiarpur will go to Bhagwant Mann and an honest AAP government will be formed in Punjab.

“We will abolish the ‘Parcha Raj’ and the false cases registered against youth and common people will be dismissed,” said Kejriwal. He claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party government would be formed in Punjab for sure. “Even the channel poll surveys say that the AAP will win 65 seats. Give AAP 80 seats and form party’s government with huge majority,” he appealed to all.

Congress, AAP CM candidates also campaign in Doaba

Channi savours golgappas with Pargat Singh in city

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi visited Guru Ravidas Dham for the second time on Monday in a span of one week. With Pargat along, he even savoured golgappas at the mela underway at Buta Mandi during the ongoing Guru Ravidas Jayanti celebrations. This was for the second time that Pargat missed Channi's event in his area. Channi was to hold a roadshow last week in Cantonment, which could not be organised as he got much late from his expected schedule that day too.

Bhagwant Mann takes a swipe at Priyanka gandhi

Bhagwant Mann on Monday in Nawanshahr got a chance to take a swipe on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi upon her visit to Punjab on Sunday. "Priyanka has been telling everyone not to vote for the AAP as they are people from Delhi. I want to ask her if she belongs to Moga," Mann said in his satirical tone making everyone burst into laughter. He did not alight from his car and chose to use it as his stage in bazaars of various cities and towns as he went on with his roadshow to the next constituencies.

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