Four Lakh samosas, four lakh bread pakoras and
four lakh mathis. That is the minimum order. Perhaps never in the
recent history of Punjab orders for such a huge quantity have been
placed. But then this is for the people who would converge near Ajitwal in Moga district on December 8 to facilitate the Shiromani
Akali Dal President and the former chief minister, Mr. Parkash Singh
Badal, on his birthday. And arrangements have been made for the
night stay of about one lakh people. "We expect about one lakh
people to reach the venue during the night itself", said the Akali
Dal General Secretary, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is the brain
behind this mega show. His target is to organize the biggest ever
political rally in Punjab till date.
The October 16 rally at Chandigarh had
established his unquestioned leadership in the party. The December 8
rally would be another step in consolidating his position. And
Congress is also trying to out compete the Akalis in the matter of
organizing rallies in the run up to the Assembly elections due in february next. The Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, determined
to make his show of strength at Badal village on December 8 better
than the Akali rally. The roads in the Malwa area that day are going
to be choked and there could be confrontation between the Akali and
the Congress workers that day. The entire fleet of private buses has
already been hired by the two parties. Buses are being requisitioned
even from the neighbouring states. Last time the two parties
competed on organizing the rallies was in 1996 when both the parties
organized rallies in Ludhiana and in the same month. The Chief
Minister has completed second phase of his Vikas Yatra and plans to
start the third phase from December 10 after the rally. However, the
Congress campaign continues to be punctured by the Congress leaders
themselves. The latest in this series is the statement made by the
Pradesh Congress Committee President, Mr. Shamsher Singh Dullo,
against free power to the farm sector to run tubewells.
This concession was given to the debt ridden
farmers in the state by the Akali Dal0-BJP government headed by Mr.
Badal in 1997 and was withdrawn when Capt. Amarinder Singh took over
the reigns of the state. However, it was his political compulsion to
reverse the decision as the Congress faced total rout in the
state. the party was virtually wiped out in the state in the last
Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Dullo maintains free power concession
mainly benefits the rich farmers who have the capacity to pay the
power bills. All along, Capt. Amarinder Singh had been trying
to woo the farmers who are mainly the Sikhs. This section is
mainly the stronghold of the Akali Dal. Of course, Capt. Amarinder
Singh has accepted his suggestion to provide 200 units of free power
to the families living blow poverty lines. Earlier, this facility
was available only to the dalits in the state. Yet another
embarrassment the Chief Minister has faced is the resignation by his
political secretary, Mr. Harchand Singh Barsat. Sources close to him
blame the Food and Supplies Minister,Mr. lal Singh, for creating a
situation which forced him to take this extreme step. Mr.Barsat has
also been lobbying for the Assembly ticket from Anandpur Sahib.
He had taken up the matter with Mrs. Parneet Kaur,
MP from Patiala and wife of Capt. Amarinder Singh. However, nothing
was done to mollify Mr. Barsat. Then Mr. Lal Singh is the incharge
for the December 8 rally at Badal. The effort of Capt. Amarinder
Singh is to blunt the strong antiincumbency. He should have
undertaken his Yatra in the very first year to know the problems
being faced by the people. He is making the beginning at the fag end
of the term of his government.
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