Down for the count in voteland

 

 

It’s the season of change in Punjab. Or is it really? Punjab is all set to go to polls by March next year and if one goes by the state’s electoral history, no government has been able to retain power for a second term. As one travels across Punjab, starting from Chandigarh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, political hoardings on highways announce the approaching battle. If Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh is trying to rewrite the electoral history of the state, by retaining power, Shiromani Akali Dal chief, Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir have pumped in all the resources to wrest power. Gurdev Singh, a retired engineer, was taking his daily dose of keenu (tangerine) juice on the highway between Jalandhar and Ludhiana. “There should be change,” he remarked. Why? “There’s a lot of corruption in this regime. Contracts for market complexes and shopping malls are being given to those close to the Chief Minister,” he said finishing the juice in a gulp.

Standing near the railway tracks and the fencing separating the India-Pakistan border, a member of Congress Seva Dal, Ajit Singh, of the border village Deuke, breathed fire on Amrinder. “He has not done anything for the poor. Farmers are dying in the state,” he lashed out as the Samjhauta Express, chugged along near the Atari International Railway Station. Price rise is a major complaint of the electorate. A cassette, ‘Chchankatta’, highlighting corruption issues and deriding the government is selling like hot cakes. But Amrinder has his supporters, particularly in the urban belt. Sukhvinder Singh, a Jalandhar-based trader, remarked, “There are corruption charges against Badal and Sidhu has been booked for murder”. He reminded, “Do not forget that Badal installed over 20 air-conditioners at his official residence while Punjab was craving for power.” Nevertheless, Amrinder appears to be on a sticky wicket. But whatever Amrinder’s fate, the farmers in Punjab don’t have anything for them.