Candidates rev up campaigns as polling day approaches

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, May 17

As the polling date for General Election approaches, the candidates in the fray seem to be doing everything in their reach to woo voters, from interacting with first-time voters to answering the queries of villagers at grain markets.

Before the voting day, residents have begun posing tough questions to representatives of various political parties. Over 1,000 people were at the grain market in Patiala to listen to the representatives of various political parties. The questions centred around the vision of parties on pressing issues such as agriculture policy, farmer suicides, poor implementation of MGNREGA, drug menace and unemployment.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate NK Sharma held a meeting with first-time voters today. He said the motive of the meeting was to ask them about the kind of development they would wish to see in the Lok Sabha segment and what, according to them, were the problem areas that needed immediate attention.

Most students compared Patiala with Mohali, stating that their city should become a smart city with heritage.

Similarly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Preneet Kaur met lawyers. While addressing a programme organised by the District Bar Association, Preneet said she had been sharing the joys and sorrows of Patiala residents for the past 25 years. She said keeping in mind the convenience and safety of the lawyers and the people coming to the district court, there was a demand to build an underpass on Mall Road near Capital Cinema.

After conducting a bike rally in Rajpura, Cabinet Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Dr Balbir Singh said his government fulfilled various guarantees after the Assembly elections, such as providing 43,000 government jobs, zero domestic electricity bills, canal water for fields and a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of martyrs.

26 candidates in fray

After an independent candidate withdrew his nomination papers from the Patiala Lok Sabha elections, a total of 26 candidates remain in the fray. District Election Officer Showkat Ahmad Parray today allotted election symbols to independent candidates. He stated that independent candidate Bahadur Singh has withdrawn his candidature.

The DEO confirmed that there are now 26 candidates contesting the election. He said that due to the presence of more than 16 candidates, each of the 1,786 polling booths will have an additional ballot unit with the EVMs. He said the first supplemental randomization of these additional ballot units (BUs) was conducted today.