Nitin Jain
Ludhiana, February 18
As the clamour of electioneering came to an end at 6 pm on Friday, the candidates shifted their focus to door-to-door canvassing and personal contacts in all 14 Assembly seats — Khanna, Samrala, Sahnewal, Ludhiana East, Ludhiana South, Atam Nagar, Ludhiana Central, Ludhiana West, Ludhiana North, Gill, Payal, Dakha, Raikot and Jagraon — of the district.
An electorate of 26,50,344 — 14,14,750 male, 12,35,471 female and 123 third gender — will decide the political fate of 175 candidates in the fray. The voters include 58,946 above 80 years of age, 25,156 first-timers aged 18-19 years, 10,766 specially-abled, 5,168 service voters, and 95 NRIs. As many as 2,979 polling booths at 1,405 locations have been set up for polling.
Food Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Industries Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli, both eyeing hat-trick, SSM supremo Balbir Singh Rajewal on debut, AAP's Deputy Leader of Opposition Sarvjit Kaur Manuke seeking re-election, former Akali ministers Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Maheshinder Singh Grewal, five-time Congress MLA Rakesh Pandey and 12 women are among the candidates. Four former bureaucrats — two retired IAS officers, retired IRS officer and a superannuated PCS officer — have also thrown their hat in the poll ring.
The maximum of 19 candidates are in fray from Sahnewal, while Ludhiana West has the minimum of eight candidates in the electoral battle. Eleven of the total 14 Assembly constituencies in Ludhiana have 10 or more contestants fighting the elections.
Among other segments in the district, Khanna has 10 candidates, Samrala 14, Ludhiana East 14, Ludhiana South 17, Atam Nagar 15, Ludhiana Central 9, Ludhiana North 10, Gill 11, Payal 18, Dakha, Raikot and Jagraon have 10 nominees each slugging out in the polls.
Even as all the candidates are putting in their best, almost all the 14 Assembly constituencies in the district are heading for a multi-cornered contest between the ruling Congress, main Opposition AAP, SAD-BSP combine, BJP-PLC-SAD (Sanyukt) alliance, LIP and SSM-SSP combine. Some rebels, including four-time Congress MLA from Samrala Amrik Singh Dhillon, are also contesting as Independents.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, the ruling Congress had won eight Vidhan Sabha seats, while the AAP had emerged victorious on three, LIP two and SAD one seat. However, AAP legislator from Raikot Jagtar Singh Jagga Hissowal had recently joined the Congress and is contesting from Jagraon, while another AAP MLA Harvinder Singh Phoolka, who had won on the AAP ticket from Dakha in 2017, had quit from the Assembly citing "inaction" over sacrilege in October 2018, necessitating a byelection in October 2019, which brought back the SAD's Manpreet Singh Ayali.
A visit to different parts of the district revealed that hundreds of party workers of the Congress, AAP, SAD-BSP, BJP-PLC-SAD (Sanyukt), LIP, SSM-SSP and the rebels are making last ditch efforts to woo the voters with roadshows remaining the order of the day.
All the main contestants presented their respective show of strength by taking out roadshows, leading to traffic chaos in Ludhiana and other parts of the district. The police also displayed its might by taking out flag marches.
Flags, banners and posters are a common sight in rural areas, while the emphasis is on door-to-door canvassing in urban areas.
The ruling Congress is banking on its 111-day Channi rule, which it claims infused a "new lease of life" in the party, the Opposition parties are calling for change, while raising the issues of increasing unemployment, plight of farmers, traders and industrialists, rising drug menace, inflation, sacrilege, deteriorating law and order situation, and unkept poll promises. The AAP, SSM-SSP and rebels are harping on providing alternative from the two traditional political parties, while promising various freebies to the people and poverty elimination.
However, the electioneering for the February 20 state polls remained low ebb as compared to the previous elections following the restrictions imposed by the ECI due to Covid.
Still, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, their Cabinet colleagues Anurag Thakur, Piyush Goyal, Hardeep Singh Puri, Smriti Irani, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Meenakshi Lekhi sought votes for the BJP alliance candidates, while the Congress roped in its former president Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi, CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu for electioneering. AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the party's CM face Bhagwant Mann also visited Ludhiana this time, while SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former CM Capt Amarinder Singh campaigned for their respective parties.
The campaign saw some barbs exchanged between the Congress, AAP, SAD, BJP, SSM and the rebels.
While the Opposition leaders targeted the Congress government in the state over "failed" promises and "rampant corruption", accusing the ruling party of reaping a "crop of corruption" in the state, the Congress talked about the alleged mafias and sacrilege incidents when the SAD-BJP was in power.
The PM, HM and other senior BJP leaders also raised the issue of national security, mentioning the Balakot air strike against Pakistan. More recently, they brought up the issue of the 1984-anti-Sikh riots. They termed poverty as the "product of the Congress".
The recent arrest of CM Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew with over Rs 10-crore also figured, triggering a fresh war of words between the Congress and the Opposition leaders.
Confident contestants
- The ruling Congress, principal Opposition AAP and others, including the SAD-BSP and the BJP-PLC-SAD (Sanyukt), seem confident of their respective party coming to power this time on the basis of which they are promising moon to the Ludhiana electorate.
- However, the rebels and the SSM-SSP candidates are focusing their campaigns against the traditional political parties, while urging the voters to give them a chance to serve and get rid of the grand old parties and their leaders, whom they accused of "doing nothing" during their repeated stints in Punjab.
- The Independents and those from lesser known local parties are also doing their bit to win over the electorate in Ludhiana.
Big fights
- Industries Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli in Khanna
- SSM supremo Balbir Singh Rajewal, four-time Congress MLA-turned-rebel Amrik Singh Dhillon in Samrala
- Former Akali Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon in Sahnewal
- Two-time MLA Balvinder Singh Bains in Ludhiana South
- LIP founder two-time MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains in Atam Nagar
- Three-time Congress MLA Surinder Kumar Dawar in Ludhiana Central
- Food Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and former Akali Minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal in Ludhiana West
- Four-time Congress MLA Rakesh Pandey in Ludhiana North
- Retired IAS Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid (Bulara) and former bureaucrat Sucha Ram Ladhar in Gill
- Two-time SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali in Dakha
- Fatehgarh Sahib Congress MP Dr Amar Singh's son Kamil Amar Singh and former IRS officer Dr Jagtar Singh in Raikot
- AAP Deputy Leader of Opposition sitting MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke and former bureaucrat and former MLA Shiv Ram Kaler in Jagraon
Key issues
Unemployment, drugs, sacrilege, plight of farmers, traders and industrialists, inflation, deteriorating law and order situation and unkept poll promises.
All set
The polling parties will leave for their respective destinations on Saturday. The polling will be held on Sunday.
Candidates in fray
Khanna: 10
Samrala: 14
Sahnewal: 19
Ludhiana East: 14
Ludhiana South: 17
Atam Nagar: 15
Ludhiana Central: 9
Ludhiana West: 8
Ludhiana North: 10
Gill: 11
Payal: 18
Dakha: 10
Raikot: 10
Jagraon: 10
