Poster war hots up in villages

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 24

Poster war and door-to-door campaign has intensified for panchayat elections in villages.

Villagers are not opening their cards this time as posters of both sarpanch candidates have been pasted on the walls of their houses, leaving the visitors guessing about their loyalties in Mansa and Bathinda districts.

When asked, which candidates would have an upper hand here, villagers say, “People don’t want to spell out their choice, lest it causes a rift. So, we have decided to keep mum on our support for candidates.”

Drugs and development are the two major issues on which candidates are banking upon and asking for support.

Candidates are also claiming that farmer suicides and debt were also serious issues, but they could not do anything at the village level.

A new trend of posters has been witnessed in these elections as during the door-to-door campaigning, many youths have pasted candidates’ posters on their shirts.

In some villages, candidates have pasted and are distributing coloured posters and pamphlets to attract voters.

A new demand, which has arisen in the elections, is that the youth in every village are demanding a gym and stadium from candidates.

While villagers are complaining about lack of development of villages — ruined streets, dilapidated condition of ponds and poor public transport system — to the candidates, the latter are ensuring the people that these works would be done on priority basis after winning the election.

Manjit Singh of Ubhe village in Mansa said, “Both candidates are young and are of around 25 years, fighting for sarpanch election in the village this time. Moreover, they don’t have any political history in their families. Mostly youngsters are actively participating. We are just watching the campaign and enjoying it.”

He added that these elections are the root cause of all quarrels and they had decided to keep at bay.

Mohinder Singh of Burj Rathi village said, “As contesting the election has now become a personal affair, common villagers try to remain aloof from the active process of electioneering.”