With polling just a week away in Punjab, Central leaders have descended on the state. The information and broadcasting minister, Ms Ambika Soni, who belongs to the state, is also slogging it out for last 10 days to ensure the victory of her party candidates.
Ms Soni, who hails from Bajwara village of Hoshiarpur district, has intensively campaigned in at least a dozen constituencies. On Monday, she addressed many public meetings and press conferences in Hoshiarpur constituency in favour of Congress party’s official candidate, Mr Sham Sunder Arora.
The information and broadcasting minister, who belongs to the Doaba region of the state, is mainly confining to the her belt. She has already campaigned in Ropar, Balachoar, Kharar and Anandpur Sahib of the region.
The Doaba belt is considered a stronghold of Congress. However in the last Assembly elections, BJP managed to win majority of the seats.
The I&B minister is trying to withhold the political stronghold of Congress, her style of campaigning includes small public meetings along with official candidates in villages and towns of the constituency. She switches to chaste Punjabi to interact with the electorate and understand their problems.
For last 10 days, Ms Soni is addressing eight to 10 public meetings in a day, which includes meetings in the remote parts. However, the minister makes it point to return back to Chandigarh, where she has a house. “Madam is a frugal eater she takes a bottle of water with her and hits the campaign trail, at times she even skips her lunch,” tells her staff.