Low-profile AAP campaign gets a road show booster
The low-profile election campaign of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Bathinda parliamentary constituency and Punjabi singer Jasraj Singh Longia aka Jassi Jasraj got a boost with a road show here on Sunday.
The low-profile election campaign of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Bathinda parliamentary constituency and Punjabi singer Jasraj Singh Longia aka Jassi Jasraj got a boost with a road show here on Sunday.
The AAP candidate from West Delhi parliamentary constituency and one of the Sikh faces of the party Jarnail Singh and India's Got Talent fame Shubhreet Kaur Ghuman, along with Jassi, trudged the city roads in open jeeps seeking votes for the party in this politically sensitive constituency of state. The cavalcade was supported by motorcycle-borne youths and local residents in their cars.
Though, in the absence of any crowd-puller leader, it was not a mega show, the party managed in mobilising good support for the road show and held a public meeting near the railway station thereafter. Flanked by party leaders and his trademark wooden plank 'pava' of a bed Jassi waved hands towards supporters.
Talking to media on the sidelines of the roadshow, Jassi said corruption, dynastic politics and drug addiction were the main poll issues of the party here.
Attacking both SAD and Congress, he blamed the Badal family for creating a sense of fear among the people and claimed that due to this fear, people do not dare to speak against the government. He said that people actually hate the Badal surname but can't speak against them.
He said that AAP leaders were not into politics just to do politics like other political leaders, but they are here to clean up the system and are taking parliamentary elections as an opportunity in that direction.
When quizzed, if he was feeling neglected that no senior party leader preferred to campaign for him in this important constituency, he said that party leaders realise that people were so much fed up with the state government that they think that people will surely vote against the government.
Addressing the gathering, he lashed out at his detractors within the party and said those who were opposing his candidature by terming him an outsider should not forget that he was a born Punjabi.
"If people across the state can listen to my songs and watch the movies, why can't I contest from any part of the state," he said.
Jarnail Singh tried to strike a chord with the people by raising the issues of anti-Sikh riots and dynastic politics in Punjab. He claimed that the Delhi government, under the leadership of party leader Arvind Kejriwal, was the only party to recommend formation of the special investigation team to inquire into anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
On the issue of his dual vote, Jassi said that in February 2012, he had changed his name from Karan Jasbir to Jasraj Singh Longia and the same was publicised in newspapers and is mentioned in his passport also.
He said he had shifted his house, so he was enrolled as a voter at this new address with the new name and informed the authorities but vote at older address with earlier name also existed despite his informing the authorities concerned.