Chandigarh, October 3
For long, Gujarat has been the benchmark for initiating development in Punjab. So much so, that for almost all development and welfare initiatives, the ruling SAD-BJP government in the state has been following the “Gujarat model”.

But this time around, the Punjab Government has gone a bit too far in aping “NaMo’s” Gujarat by seeking “star power” to hard sell Punjab to young voters within and investors outside the state.

So while Gujarat has superstar Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador, Punjab is set to rope in a top film star as state’s promoter.

The decision to engage a film star as a brand ambassador was approved by the Punjab Cabinet during a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here today.

A sum of Rs 50 lakh has been set aside for the purpose. The brand ambassador will promote Punjab, its policies and programmes.

The proposal was put forth before the Council of Ministers with an argument that while Gujarat had hired Bachchan and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh Preity Zinta as their brand ambassadors, the star power would help Punjab reach out to a wider populace both within the state and outside.

With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the state government is in a hurry to have a star as its brand ambassador and start the campaign well before the elections.