Capt Amarinder’s voter outreach from Sept 13

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 9

Appearing to have brokered peace with Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is now focusing on public outreach to highlight his government’s “achievements” ahead of the Assembly elections next year. Sidhu, who had been countering his own government over various issues, is now training his guns on the Opposition.

The ministers targeting Amarinder too have been lying low with sources attributing the “change in stance” to the intervention by the high command.

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Beginning September 13, the CM has a series of programmes lined up, including laying the stone of a Punjab Agricultural University college at Ballowal Saunkri village in Nawanshahr and a government college in Mukhliana village of Hoshiarpur. To make up for the time lost on account of Covid and internal bickering, Amarinder may launch whirlwind tours of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur and other important districts in Malwa and Doaba, said sources, stressing the need for a speedy campaign to counter anti-incumbency.

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Former PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar had recently pointed out that “pro-people” schemes would serve no good until their benefits were explained to the voters. Among other decisions, the government has hiked the sugarcane state advised price (SAP) to Rs 360 a quintal and the social security pension to Rs 1,500. With changed political equations in the aftermath of a group of ministers rebelling against the CM and Sidhu being elevated as the PPCC chief, the CM camp in recent past has remained busy fortifying its position by wooing old adversaries, prominent among them Partap Singh Bajwa and ex-CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.

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