Punjab assembly elections: Bhojpuri singer Khesari Lal Yadav campaigns for Congress in Mohali

Belts out Bhojpuri songs to woo voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh during election rallies Jagatpura and Balongi villages

Reaching out to voters from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Bhojpuri actor-cum-singer Khesari Lal Yadav on Thursday addressed election rallies at Jagatpura and Balongi villages in favour of Mohali Congress candidate Balbir Singh Sidhu.

Connecting with voters in Bhojpuri, Yadav urged them to vote for Sidhu. While belting out famous songs amid huge cheers from the crowd, he called upon them to come out in good numbers on February 20 to ensure landslide victory for Sidhu.

“Election is the time when you can show your power. You need a leader who can take care of all your problems. In Mohali, it’s only Balbir Singh Sidhu who works tirelessly for society’s overall betterment,” he said.

Vashisht urges Puri to start more international flights

Union minister for aviation and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri campaigned in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sanjeev Vashisht in Phase 9.

The election rally was also attended by Haryana speaker Gian Chand Gupta and Haryana sports minister Sandeep Singh, among other BJP leaders.

On the occasion, Vashisht urged Puri to begin international flights to Europe and North America from the Chandigarh International Airport.

Promising to do the needful, Puri said the first international flight from Mohali to Dubai was also launched with the initiative of Vashisht, who is a member of the airport’s advisory committee.

Discussing the economic and political situation of Punjab, Puri said the state was going through a difficult period and its serious issues had not been addressed for a long time.

AAP’s fight against unemployment, corruption: Kulwant

Continuing his door-to-door campaign in Mohali, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kulwant Singh said the party was working to clean up the mess and corruption spread by political parties after the country’s Independence.

He said AAP’s fight was not against the political parties but against unemployment and corruption.

“Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal is talking of giving loans to youth to send them abroad, so that there is no one to demand employment. Even the Congress party has forced the youth to climb water tanks and mobile towers to raise their demands. The voters will not forget these things and will give a crushing defeat to all traditional parties by electing the AAP on February 20,” he said.

KC Singh campaigns for Ravneet Brar

Sunehra Punjab Party convener KC Singh campaigned for Sanyukt Samaj Morcha’s (SSM) Mohali candidate Ravneet Brar in Mohali.

While addressing an election rally, Singh said AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal was not to be trusted. “He wants to rule Punjab by fooling its people. At the same time, the Congress has the full patronage of the mafia that it has supported for the past five years,” he added.

Brar said Mohali was among the most-educated constituencies in Punjab. “Voters here are smart and well aware of the clumsy tricks of traditional parties as well as leaders who switch sides. On the other hand, the SSM is contesting the elections against the richest candidates of Punjab at the lowest cost,” he said.

SAD-BSP planning several welfare schemes: Sohana

Shiromani Akali Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Parvinder Singh Sohana said people from all sections in Mohali constituency will get huge concessions and benefits once the alliance came to power in Punjab.

Appealing for votes, he said the SAD-BSP combine had come up with several welfare schemes for government employees, contract and outsourced employees, industrialists, youth, women, shopkeepers, traders, farmers and students.

Hitting out against the AAP and the Congress, he said the AAP’s balloon of fake promises had deflated, while people had also decided to vote out Congress MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu.

Deepinder Dhillon campaigns in Baroli, Mubarakpur

Campaigning in Baroli and Mubarakpur, Congress candidate from Dera Bassi Deepinder Singh Dhillon on Thursday said the party will win the elections with a thumping majority.

Dhillon said the popularity of the Congress was increasing, as evident from more and more people joining it. He appealed to the people to strengthen the hands of Charanjit Singh Channi by giving each and every vote to the Congress party.

Raghav Chadha takes out road show for AAP candidate

Punjab AAP co-incharge Raghav Chadha took out a road show in Zirakpur in support of party’s Dera Bassi candidate Kuljeet Randhawa.

On the occasion, Chadha urged people to vote for the AAP to clean the political mess in Punjab.

“People of Punjab have two options. On the one side are sand, cable and transport mafias and on the other side are Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal, two persons with a clean image,” he said, appealing to people to press the “broom” button on February 20 to elect an honest government.

CCTV cameras will be installed in all Dera Bassi towns: Khanna

BJP’s Dera Bassi candidate Sanjeev Khanna said the party will ensure installation of CCTV cameras in the constituency once it formed government in Punjab.

During his election campaign on Thursday, Khanna addressed public meetings in many housing societies, including Penta Homes, Mona Green, Bollywood Heights and Trishala City in Zirakpur.

He said so far, SAD MLA NK Sharma never made any effort for the safety of the constituency’s people. “Incidents of snatching in Dera Bassi are increasing by the day. Safety of every citizen living in Punjab is paramount for the BJP. Therefore, as soon as the BJP government is formed in Punjab, the crowded areas in Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Lalru will be equipped with CCTV cameras,” he said, adding that the work will be executed with the cooperation of RWAs and social organisations.

Tinku holds election rally in Kharar

Congress’ Kharar candidate Vijay Sharma Tinku on Thursday held an election rally in Kharar.

He said Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had already initiated several projects in the town, such as construction of bus stand and sewerage treatment plant, besides beautification of Ajj Sarovar, adding that all these projects will be completed on time.

Lashing out at the AAP, he alleged, “We don’t understand on what basis the AAP candidate is seeking votes, when the party’s sitting MLA failed to provide basic amenities and did not even visit the area.”

But the Congress will make sure that Kharar, which was the hometown of the chief minister, was fully developed, Tinku said.