The stern imposition of election code by the Election Commission has definitely taken out the colour out of the campaigning in Punjab. In the one-and-a-half hour drive from Chandigarh to Patiala there were no banners or party flags and barely a vehicle was encountered campaigning for the candidates.
Patiala is usually associated with “Patiala Peg”, which is a much larger version of a regular one. However, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh, who is fondly called “Maharaja” here, is not witnessing any grand or intense political battle.
The only thing people in the town are debating is whether his victory margin is going to increase or decrease from last elections’ 33,000.
Capt. Singh is eyeing a hat-trick from Patiala seat. In 2002, he captured the seat with a margin of 33,000 votes and in 2007 by 32,750 votes, defeating his nearest rival Surjit Kohli of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Mr Kohli is again contesting against him.
With Capt. Singh busy campaigning all over the state, the ladies of the Patiala royal family are holding fort. The daughter of Capt. Singh, Ms Jai Inder Kaur, is aggressively campaigning for him. Capt. Singh, who has been able to campaign in Patiala only once till now, has wife Preneet Kaur and their daughter as his campaigning managers in his absence. With son Raninder Singh also a Congress candidate from Samana constituency, Ms Preneet Kaur is dividing her time to canvass for both her husband and her son. She usually campaigns in the evening in Patiala after coming back from Samana. She goes into small and congested localities and even shares meals with the people. Her spontaneity and ability to mingle with the crowds makes her a star campaigner for Capt. Singh.
Jai Inder, who otherwise lives in Delhi, is not a political person. She is only focusing on her father’s constituency. “We have divided our campaigning programme. There is no use losing focus by spreading out the effort,” she says. Jai Inder is focusing on door-to-door campaigning and moves in a small cavalcade of two or three cars. People in the town have lot of stories about the royal family, and how Capt. Singh can put their town on the trajectory of development if he becomes the chief minister. “Maharaj sahib has done a lot for solving the traffic problems of Patiala by building flyovers during his tenure as chief minister. He can change the face of our town if he becomes chief minister once again,” says Ramaninder Singh, a local trader.
SAD candidate Surjit Kohli, who is a big transporter, is ironically campaigning on a scooter. Mr Kohli, whose son is the mayor of Patiala, is trying to play up the absence of Capt. Singh from the constituency.
However, it seems that would not be enough for any political upset.