DHURI BYPOLL - Curtains on campaign, triangular contest on cards

Friday, 10/04/2015

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/

Dhuri : With SAD (Amritsar) candidate Surjit Singh Kalabula managing to secure considerable support during campaigning, the Dhuri Assembly bypoll is likely to witness a triangular contest between the SAD, Congress and the SAD (Amritsar).

The campaigning for the April 11 byelection, necessitated after the resignation by Congress MLA Arvind Khanna, concluded today.

Apart from his campaign in villages as well as the Dhuri town over the past several days, Kalabula organised an impressive road show comprising hundreds of vehicles today.

A resident said Kalabula had, through his hard work, made his presence felt in the bypoll that earlier seemed to be a two-cornered contest between Gobind Singh Longowal of the Akali Dal and Simar Pratap Singh Barnala of the Congress.

The SAD (Amritsar) candidate has received good response in recent days, particularly in rural areas.

The campaigning for the Dhuri Assembly byelection today ended with parties making last ditch efforts to woo voters by taking out road shows. No incident of violence has been reported from any part of the constituency so far.

Under the leadership of Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, a road show was taken out in the city by party candidate Simar Pratap Singh Barnala. Former Dhuri MLA Gaganjeet Singh Barnala, former Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla, MLAs, former MLAs, and a large number of party workers took part.

In another road show, taken out by SAD candidate Longowal in Dhuri, a large number of women under the leadership of MLA Jagir Kaur participated.

Kalabula also took out a road show in various villages of the constituency. He was accompanied by party president Simranjit Singh Mann, senior vice-president Dhayan Singh Mand and other leaders. People faced inconvenience as traffic on the Sangrur-Malerkotla road was affected.

Campaign dominated by state Biggies

SAD: The Akali Dal campaign was led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his deputy and son Sukhbir Badal and other senior leaders of the party

Apart from the Badal father-son duo, senior leaders of the party had been camping in the constituency for the past several days

Congress: PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa led the campaign even though former CM and party’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha pitched towards the fag end

Compared to the Akalis, the Congress remained a divided house in the beginning with Amarinder openly criticising Bajwa over certain issues 

SAD (A): Party president Simranjit Singh Mann and his team campaigned for Kalabula all the way since the beginning

Kalabula has been banking on support from rural areas as 1,12,488 of the total 1,50,888 electorate live in villages