Wary of 2017 poll debacle, AAP gets going in Gurdaspur

Party banks on free power promise | SAD, Cong struggle to find feet

BQ: Learnt from mistakes

This time will be different from the last Assembly poll when we put up a disjointed effort. We have learnt from our mistakes,”

— Amarpal Singh Kishankot, AAP leader

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, August 1

In Gurdaspur district, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was defeated in all seven seats in the 2017 elections, but this time, it is getting its act together much in advance even as the Congress is busy trying to set its house in order while the SAD-BSP alliance is struggling to find its feet.

AAP leaders claim they do not want a repeat of 2017. “This time will be different from the last Assembly poll when we put up a disjointed effort. We have learnt from our mistakes,” said Amarpal Singh Kishankot, AAP halqa in charge of Sri Hargobindpur seat.

The party has already announced 48 halqa in charges. It has made it clear all of them will be given the ticket. The next list is expected to be released in mid-August.

In Gurdaspur district, the AAP has declared its candidates in three seats — Amarpal Singh Kishankot (Sri Hargobindpur), Sherry Kalsi (Batala) and Balbir Singh Pannu (Fatehgarh Churian). Of these, only Kishankot had contested the last elections and had secured an impressive 25,000 votes. In Batala, Kalsi has replaced former state president Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi, while in Fatehgarh Churian, Gurvinder Singh Shampura has made way for Pannu.

AAP leaders claim the Opposition parties were misleading voters by claiming Arvind Kejriwal had promised 300 units of free electricity and anybody using more than that will have to cough up the entire bill.

“This is not true. In Punjab, the billing cycle of electricity consumption is two months. This, in effect, means Kejriwal has promised 600 units of free power. Opposition parties are misleading people saying just 300 units had been made free. Actually, 600 units have been made free,” said Kishankot.

“The ‘Kejriwal-Ka-Guarantee card’ is not a manifesto. The first point in the card will be that AAP will provide 600 units of free electricity every two months. Similarly, other promises will be listed. Such cards were distributed successfully in the run up to the 2020 poll in Delhi,” said a halqa in charge.