The anger against the Badals gushes out like molten lava from a volcano the minute you mention the Akali Dal in Punjab. “Ae te vapas nai andene (they aren’t coming back),’’ is the unanimous refrain of voters from Amritsar to the family belt that runs from Jalalabad through Lambi to Bhatinda. 

“They’ve done nothing for Punjab.’’ What about all the wonderful roads and highways? “They built those for their Mercedes and Toyotas, not for us. See the state of the roads in the villages. There aren’t any.’’ 
But what about the schools and colleges they’ve built? “What’s the point of those when our youth have become drug addicts because there are no jobs?’’ And their claims of development? “Villages don’t have drinking water. Even Badal saheb’s own constituency of Lambi doesn’t get piped drinking water. They have to depend on private tankers. You call that development?’’

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Indignation levels are so high that traditional Akali supporters are leaving the fold to vote for change. AAP or Congress, it doesn’t really matter as long as the Badals don’t come back to power.

The anger was subterranean till the polling dates were announced. After that it exploded in unprecedented violence against the Badals themselves and various Akali leaders. Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was hit by a shoe in his own constituency of Lambi. Gurbachan Singh, brother of radical Sikh leader Amrik Singh, travelled all the way from Ajnala in Amritsar district to hurl the shoe. According to some reports, the shoe hit Badal’s turban and broke his spectacles. Nothing could be more humiliating for the 89 year old leader who has been CM of Punjab five times and towered above most leaders in the state. Today, people speak of him with contempt and disgust for allowing his family to take over the party, the government and key businesses like transport and sand mining.

A few days before the attack on Badal senior, stones were thrown at son and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s car in his constituency of Jalalabad. People recounted the incident with ghoulish glee, saying that this was junior Badal’s first encounter with the wrath of common folk. “He never looked below his nose to see what’s been happening in Punjab during his reign,’’ said an angry voter.

Veteran Akali MP Prem Singh Chandumajra was insulted by voters who tore off his turban when he went to campaign for his son Harinderpal Singh who is contesting on an Akali ticket from Sanaur in Patiala. And another veteran Sikander Singh Maluka, rural development minister in the Punjab government, was gheraoed for over an hour near the Takht Damdama Sahib just 15 minutes after the poll dates were announced. He cowered in his car while people banged on the windows and hit the windscreen till the police rescued him.

These incidents are grim portends for the Akali Dal when Punjab votes on February 4. Predictions on the street say that the party’s seat tally will probably get stuck in single digits.

The popular forecast for the BJP is even grimmer. Zero seats, laughed one voter. At best, one seat, he said.

He’s the Mann

AAP voters are clear who their choice is for chief minister if Arvind Kejriwal’s party wins in Punjab. They want Bhagwant Singh Mann. The AAP MP has enthralled people with his magical campaign peppered with witticisms and scathing attacks on the Badal family. 

Voters brush aside questions about his legendary drinking habits. There have been complaints about alcohol on his breath from fellow parliamentarians in Delhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan even said that she was looking into them.

But the people of Punjab wave these allegations away. Mann is an MP from Sangrur but he has been asked to contest against Sukhbir Singh Badal in Jalalabad. According to voters in the constituency, he is up bright and early to hit the campaign trail. Winter mornings have been foggy but they say he is out from 7 am with his entourage to address rallies, street corner meetings and campaign door-to-door. What seems to have endeared him to voters is that unlike Sukhbir who comes surrounded by guntoting officious security men, Mann meets them like an ordinary person. No security, no chamchas, just him mingling with the crowds to shake hands and listen to complaints. 

The AAP leader has not only added spice to the campaign, he’s apparently made the going tough for the deputy CM. Voters whisper that Sukhbir may even lose his seat this time!

Captain’s show

It is significant that the Congress campaign in Punjab hardly flaunts the Gandhi family. Through our three-day road trip, we saw just one hoarding that featured Sonia, Rahul and Manmohan Singh.

It is Captain Amrinder Singh all the way. He is on every hoarding, every poster, every banner. People in Punjab say that despite his feudal ways and his royal lineage, he remains the most popular Congress leader in the state. And the Sikhs remember the stand he took against Operation Bluestar. Amrinder resigned from the Congress in protest against the army attack on the Golden Temple.
“This is not that Congress,’’ one voter said. “This is Captain’s Congress and it’s a completely different party.’’

Following a campaign path charted for him by election strategist Prashant Kishore, Amrinder Singh has been forced to make himself more accessible to people. And it’s paying off. If the Congress wins Punjab, it will be entirely due to the Captain’s efforts.

Money blues

Here’s a small incident that illustrates how demonetization has affected the Punjab election. A young man on a motorbike drove up to a petrol pump on the highway to Bhatinda. Asked about the elections, he shot back, “Who cares who wins or loses. Modi has f***** us all with note bandi.’’ He roared away after letting loose a string of expletives.