Punjab Diary: Legion of fans and fanatics

Batala: Batala is a city where AAP’s fanatics outnumber its fans. Hours after AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal was arrested, a die-hard fanatic declared in newspapers that he would remain barefoot till his boss was released from the jail. Incidentally, this man is also a ticket aspirant. True to his promise, he has been seen barefoot in every protest and rally held after Kejriwal’s arrest. In his endeavour to impress the powers that be, he makes it a point to regularly send pictures appearing in the media showing him walking sans shoes or slippers to his Delhi bosses. Now, that is indeed a novel idea floated by this AAP fanatic. Many AAP loyalists are inspired by his antics and are ready to follow suit.

Kavita Khanna puts BJP in a tight spot

Pathankot: Barely hours after Kavita Khanna, wife of film icon and four-time MP Vinod Khanna, was denied the Gurdaspur ticket by the BJP, she chalked out a programme which entailed meeting people and going places. This sent out clear signals that she intended to contest the Lok Sabha poll, and the Congress, AAP and SAD may have tried to poach her. But she’s is keeping her cards close to her chest, revealing nothing. This is adding to the suspense as she is bound to dig deep into the vote bank of the saffron party’s nominee, Dinesh Babbu. There are rumours that the BJP may buy peace by offering her something big. Even as the BJP tries hard to wriggle out of this difficult position, the lady is enjoying the spotlight.

Left high and dry

Gurdaspur: Much before the BJP had announced its candidate for the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency, the ticket aspirants had reached an unwritten agreement — that they’d try hard to bag the nomination but once the party finalised the candidate, the others would rally behind him or her. The day Dinesh Singh Babbu was named the candidate, he tried reaching out to the other aspirants to remind them of the promise — but the accord broke into a thousand pieces as everyone backed out, leaving Babbu high and dry. After that, Babbu has stopped calling them, for he has realised that when you really matter to someone, that person will always have time for you No excuses, no lies and no broken promises. If you do not matter, then you are on your own.

‘Jiska kaam, usi ko saaje’

Muktsar: Taking a dig at the AAP and BJP for fielding artistes for the Faridkot parliamentary constituency, PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, “Every political party has the right to field anyone. In the past, we had given opportunity to artistes and saw that once an artiste wins, he/she doesn’t comes back to the area. ‘Jiska kaam, usi ko saaje’.” It seems Warring forgot that the incumbent Congress MP from Faridkot, Mohammad Sadique, is also a renowned singer.

Channi on campaign spree

Jalandhar: Though the Congress hasn’t announced a single Lok Sabha candidate in Punjab, former CM Charanjit Singh Channi is actively touring and connecting with the masses in the Jalandhar (reserved) parliamentary constituency. Channi visiting deras and interacting with followers on almost a daily basis. A regular at Dera Sachkhand Ballan, he has also called on Ravidassia, Valmiki, Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities in the region. On Sunday, he paid obeisance at the Bhartiya Valmiki Dharma Samaj in Dhina village. Recently, Channi visited the Ram Mandir and Gurdwara Brahm Kund Sahib in Ayodhya, too.

Transgender persons to motivate voters

Ferozepur: The Ferozepur administration has roped in transgender persons to motivate the electorate as part of the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign. “This initiative will not only encourage voters, but will also align the transgender community with the mainstream,” said ADC Arun Sharma. Bobby Deva, who has been nominated as a “SVEEP Icon”, said his community was excited to be part of this unique initiative. “We will do our best to increase the polling percentage,” said Deva.

Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal, Archit Watts, Aparna Banerji and Anirudh Gupta