Gurdaspur in Punjab is witnessing a straight fight between actor turned politician Vinod Khanna and former minister and Congress leader, Pratap Singh Bajwa, who are trying to raise novel issues and showcasing different styles of campaigning to woo voters. The constituency goes to poll on Wednesday.
Three-time MP Vinod Khanna is a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Gurdaspur in Punjab. He has also campaigned in train. Naturally the event was a big hit as large number of his admirers gathered enroute. Khanna said he was ?canvassing for votes by travelling in a train since he was keen to learn about the grievances of the commuters?.
His first visit to Gurdaspur on April 22 in the company of Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal and other senior Shiromani Akali Dal leaders and leaders of BJP was reported to be a tumultuous affair as he was given a standing ovation wherever he visited much to the discomfiture of his rival Congress candidate who had been raising the issue of Khanna?s absence from the constituency ever since his election. However, Khanna has been a big draw and could be a cause of worry for Bajwa who has a number of issues that he plans to raise in the run-up to Parliamentary elections.
Bajwa told FE that the bollywood star was oblivious of the reality and his meetings would not cut much ice with voters. He said that Congress would win on the strength of the work done by the party. He said, ?The country?s agriculture sector grew at 5% during the tenure of Congress-led UPA at the Centre, nearly double the growth registered during the previous NDA government. Now the Congress promises to make the farmers economically strong, and a highly progressive and vibrant section of the society.?
Bajwa said, ?It is a well known fact that the Indian economy is based on agriculture and this contributes 60% of the GDP. In the present worldwide economic depression, the economy of our country is relatively safe and for this, the credit goes to our farmers. It is now well recognised that the prosperity of our country depends on the prosperity of our farmers.?
He claimed that if voted to power, Congress will make farmers partners in formulating and implementing policies concerning agriculture and other related issues. He said that large-scale indebtedness of farmers is the result of past policies. The total debt liability of all farmers should be waived and henceforth all types of agricultural loans should be made available to the farmers at rate of 2%. He also suggested that restrictions on export of agricultural produce should be abolished and the condition of minimum export price should be removed.