Despite rain, Punjab voters poll it up

WEATHERING THE POLLS: Despite the weather, voters in Punjab had their fair share of the fun.

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Lambi/ Amritsar/ Patiala (Punjab): Malwa, in the heart of Punjab's farmlands, is where the real electoral battle is being fought.

It was also extremely tense in Lambi, from where former chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Prakash Singh Badal is seeking re-election.

The Congress candidate and his cousin, Mahesh Inder Singh Badal, was putting up a resolute defence but Prakash Singh Badal wasn't bothered.

“We'll teach them a lesson. Congress will never come back,” said Prakash Singh Badal.

For Badal, anti-incumbency is a word which means so much. The 80-plus grand old politician fears this could be his last attempt at the state's top job.

In rain-soaked Amritsar, it wasn't just a fight for the state legislature. Navjot Singh Sidhu's quest to be re-elected from the Parliamentary seat he had resigned after his conviction became a close match.

But Sidhu tried to look his usual unperturbed self. “The sun is going to pierce through the clouds,” he said.

His rival and Punjab minister Surinder Singla even lost his cool.

“Surinder Singhla came inside the polling booth and slapped the polling official. A case has been registered against him,” said Chief Election Officer, Punjab, Sundaram Krishna.

There have been complaints against Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh for being aloof and inaccessible, for re-nominating the same MLAs and for not being able to handle inflation. But he sounded confident in Patiala on Tuesday morning.

"I have not picked one issue and raised it. I have raised the entire state equally on all levels,” said Amrinder Singh.

The only thing that played spoilsport with Politics was the weather but it didn't mean that the voters didn't have their fair share of the fun. The poll percentage kept going up through the day despite the intermittent showers. The rains couldn't take away all the enthusiasm.

(With inputs from Bhupendra Chaubey, Jyoti Kamal and Pallavi Ghosh)