This election is about relationships over ideologies
Residents of this area, which is covered by the parliamentary seats of Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib, seem to have chosen, during the LS elections, to place more value on social and personal relationships than on allegiance to political ideas, maybe taking a hint from the growing number of turncoats.
On the basis of social links, people and organizations from a variety of sectors have also shown a propensity to support the campaigns of political party candidates in diverse districts.
In light of their social and societal connections to the candidates and their supporters, office bearers and activists of social and sports organizations from Mini Chhapar, Khera, Dhulkot, and Pohir village said that they had already decided to endorse candidates in the next Lok Sabha elections.
“Why should we always have to heed the orders of political leaders when our leaders are free to switch allegiances at will without involving party members?” questioned Pohir village native Shiv Kumar Narad.
The eighty-year-old retired teacher Mehar Chand Shastri said that, for the first time, he would be endorsing a candidate not put up by the Congress, as his nephew Ashok Prashar Pappi was introduced by the AAP as the candidate from the Ludhiana parliamentary seat. After leading a communal prayer for his nephew’s success, Shastri declared, “I know while seeking votes for Ashok, I will be opposing a candidate to be fielded by my native party Congress, but I am justified in answering my heart and conscience when it comes to seeking support for my sister’s son.”
Social activist Navjot Jyoti and councillor Aman Afridi said that office-bearers of certain organizations in the town and its environs have begun to campaign for Iqbal Singh Jhundan, the former SAD member from Amargarh who is now running for the Lok Sabha seat of Sangrur.
“Despite our long-standing relationship with Jhundan, which will allow us to spend more time in his constituency, a number of social activists have chosen to support him because of his work as an MLA here, regardless of their political affiliation,” Jyoti said.
