Below-the-belt campaigning picks up in Punjab

Verses in Punjabi form the core of surrogate ads lambasting CM Amarinder Singh for his lavish lifestyle and SAD chief Badal for alleged corruption.

Political parties in Punjab are getting nasty with rivals through surrogate ads in the print media.

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Verses in Punjabi form the core of a campaign lambasting Punjab CM Amarinder Singh for his lavish lifestyle and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Prakash Singh Badal for alleged corruption.

The ads have been appearing in various newspapers for many days now, with the ones directed at Amarinder showing him and "his friends" playing with currency notes and liquor bottles — in the company of skimpily clad women.

The ones on the Badals show the SAD chief carrying son Sukhbir on his shoulder with a verse saying: “Badal yearns for the fulfilment of his only dream, which is to see son Sukhbir in control of the whole of Punjab."

Issued by organisations like the Desh Punjab Nyaya Front and Miri Piri Sewa Dal, the ads are in fact being funded by the SAD and the Congress themselves.