Bathinda, April 30
It is well past midnight. A group of youths is standing on the corner of a street about to hand over something to a prospective voter. It looks like money. Seeing a car approaching, they vanish in a dingy street. In Paras Ram Nagar, Raju, a peon, did not take long to decline a crisp Rs 500 note being offered for his vote. “They were distributing thousands and even offering gifts to others, but want me to sell my vote for Rs 500 only,” he argued.

With hopes of an exciting day of polling, possibly marred by rigging and violence and, maybe, expecting some heroism in the face of adversary, The Tribune team set off for Mann village. It was from this village that violence was reported during panchayat elections last year. Over 100 men, owing allegiance to the Congress, fled from their homes after an alleged attack by Akalis and some FIRs were registered.

An eerie silence prevailed in the village today. A strong posse of para-military forces was believed to be guarding all entry points to the village. But there was none. They were inside the polling booth, keeping an eye on the voters’ queue.

The party booths of the Akalis and the Congress were set up in close vicinity.

Vaid Gurtej Singh, who was one among the many to bear the brunt of the violence last year, is relaxed. “The old camaraderie has returned to the village. If panchayat elections divided us, Parliament elections have united us. I had tea with Akali supporters in their party booth. We always used to drink and dine together until some ‘outsiders’ caused bitterness over our political affiliations. We co-exist now while supporting rival parties. That is the real beauty of democracy. Isn’t it?” he asked.

Guessing the trend of voting from the number of people seen at party booths is not a wise option. Some voters confessed that visiting a party booth didn’t mean voting for the party. Congress booths were not visible at Kanakwal village situated next to the Bathinda refinery.

It was surprising that the village where the in-laws of a prominent Congress leader live showed no signs of Congress voters.

“Congress leaders did not campaign here,” says Jaswinder Singh, who lost his son due to some disease last year. He blamed the pollution for the death. “The government announced relocation last year. It is yet to happen,” he said.

Bakhar Singh, the village Nambardar, said the Akali candidate Harsimrat Badal has promised relocation.

“On her assurance, we agreed to participate in voting. Earlier, we had boycotted panchayat elections on the issue,” he said.

Known for their election strategy, the Akalis set up two booths outside most of the polling centres. Their booths are located on either side of the Congress booth so that the voter would first see the Akali booth no matter which way he came from. The booths of AAP were seen in the city but were a rarity in villages.

Women voters were enthusiastic. They are believed to follow the preference of the male head of the family. But The Tribune team met some women voters whose reply was interesting. A school teacher said she voted for a party against the wishes of her husband. “It is my right to decide,” she asserted.

Another woman, in late 50s, said she voted for AAP, “I want change.” When asked about her husband, she stated, “He voted for AAP also. I forced him to vote for the party,” she said with a chuckle.

A young mother revealed she had her own reasons for the candidate she voted for. “My brother’s name is Manpreet. How could I not vote for him?” she asked.