B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Manpreet says he would not bargain for ministerial berths
Bathinda, March 5
The Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal today said that he would not exploit the mandate of the people for his party and bargain with the Congress or the SAD for the sake of ministerial berths for his men in case a hung assembly emerged in the state tomorrow.

Joint exercise with US troops begins
Bathinda, March 5
The Bathinda-based Chetak Corps today began a fortnight long joint exercise with US troops in the neighbouring deserts of Rajasthan to hone their tactical and technical skills in close quarter battle with terrorists and other exigencies.

CPI leader Arshi hopes for good performance
Bathinda, March 5
The United Front led by Manpreet Singh Badal has convened its meeting at Chandigarh on March 7 to formulate the post-election strategy.


                                         Hardev Arshi

Contestants recite hymns, visit religious places
Faridkot, March 5
After over a month, it is not only the voters but also mthe political leaders and those who contested the election in this region who are excited about predicting who would have the last laugh.

Curiosity over results boosts ‘satta’ market
Moga, March 5
Bookies who have put in crores of rupees on betting in the Punjab Assembly elections have kept their fingers crossed and they seem to be more anxious than the political parties and the candidates contesting the elections as the time is running fast for the counting, which is slated for Tuesday.

Man seeks action against IAS official for harassing his wife
Moga, March 5
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has marked an inquiry against Jeram Beda, IAS, SDM-cum-Returning Officer of Nihalsinghwala constituency, for allegedly harassing a woman teacher, who gave birth to a baby a couple of months back, by deputing her on poll duty.

Manpreet says he would not bargain for ministerial berths
SP Sharma
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 5
The Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal today said that he would not exploit the mandate of the people for his party and bargain with the Congress or the SAD for the sake of ministerial berths for his men in case a hung assembly emerged in the state tomorrow.

Manpreet, who was on a thanksgiving visit to the PPP activists here, said the people have voted for him this time in the hope that "I" will find some way to solve their problems.

He ruled out the possibility of supporting his uncle and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in case a hung assembly emerged in Punjab tomorrow.

Manpreet appeared relieved and there was no sign of tension in him on the eve of counting of votes as he turned poetic and narrated couplets to convey his sentiments against the ruling Badal family and also the Congress.

He said the people of Punjab were fed up of the present SAD-BJP coalition government led by his uncle. "They indulged in corruption and misrule during the five years of their government", he alleged.

He said that both the SAD and the Congress had spent more than Rs.10,000 crores to purchase votes. The SAD went a step ahead by liquidating the agriculture loans of farmers in the Lambi constituency where Parkash Singh Badal was trapped in a triangular contest, he alleged.

Manpreet accused the SAD, BJP and Congress of patronizing corruption during their regimes and promised that the PPP would not compromise on these issues of great public importance.

He said that the central committee of the PPP would meet on March 7 to analyze the election results and thereafter all constituents of the United Front (Sanjha Morcha) will sit together to evolve a firm strategy on the issue of government formation.

He hoped that the United Front led by him was in a position to win about 20 seats. These include Sangrur, Dhuri, Amritsar (West), Mansa and Bathinda (Rural). The CPI and other constituents of the Joint Front have contested these seats. The PPP alone might bad 15 seats, he said.

Manpreet said that his endeavour was to make Punjab self-reliant in the matter of power generation that would attract industry and create job opportunities.

Joint exercise with US troops begins
SP Sharma
TNS

Bathinda, March 5
The Bathinda-based Chetak Corps today began a fortnight long joint exercise with US troops in the neighbouring deserts of Rajasthan to hone their tactical and technical skills in close quarter battle with terrorists and other exigencies.

Indian soldiers prepare for an exercise with the US troops on Monday in the desert of Rajasthan. A Tribune photograph

CPI leader Arshi hopes for good performance
SP Sharma
TNS

Bathinda, March 5
The United Front led by Manpreet Singh Badal has convened its meeting at Chandigarh on March 7 to formulate the post-election strategy.

CPI leader and the party candidate for the Mansa assembly seat, Hardev Arshi, today said that all parties in the United Front (Sanjha Morcha) will abide by the decision that would be taken unanimously in the meeting.

He said that the post-election scenario will be taken into account before reaching a final decision.

Arshi said that the CPI had fielded its candidates on 14 seats and was hopeful of "good performance" on atleast 6 seats where the left has influence.

The CPI and the CPM contested the election on their own symbols, while the Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) and the SAD (Longowal) had the symbol of kite.

Arshi said that he had won the earlier assembly elections in 1992 and 1997 from Budladha, but had this time shifted to Mansa as the former seat has been reserved.

Contestants recite hymns, visit religious places
Balwant Garg
TNS

Faridkot, March 5
After over a month, it is not only the voters but also mthe political leaders and those who contested the election in this region who are excited about predicting who would have the last laugh.

So when these leaders are flushed with excitement and tension of the previous day, to soothe their nerves to some extent, some of them put on soothing religious hymns, some visit gurdwaras and temples to pay obeisance.

Deep Malhotra, the SAD (B) candidate on Faridkot seat, took a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Chinpurni, Jwala Ji and Kangra Ji in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir — perhaps seeking benediction for his maiden successful foray into politics.

Mantar Singh Brar is highly excited and he is also struggling to pan out how a dissident Congress leader in Upinder Sharma, who contested as an independent, will help him in wresting the seat from Ripjeet Singh Brar, the sitting Congress MLA.

Gurdev Singh Badal, the SAD (B) candidate from Jaitu is in Ludhiana for over one month after he suffered a serious paralysis attack two days after the polling day. Now it is Kewal Singh Badal, the former vice-president of SGPC and elder son of Gurdev Badal, who is making the foray.

The Congress candidates, Avtar Singh Brar in Faridkot, Ripjeet Singh Brar in Kotkapura and Joginder Singh in Jaitu, are also anxious about the results. 

Curiosity over results boosts ‘satta’ market
Kulwinder Sandhu
TNS

Moga, March 5
Bookies who have put in crores of rupees on betting in the Punjab Assembly elections have kept their fingers crossed and they seem to be more anxious than the political parties and the candidates contesting the elections as the time is running fast for the counting, which is slated for Tuesday.

As per the insiders in this 'illegal business' that is being centrally operated from Ludhiana, more than Rs 500 crore has been put on betting, mostly by the business community, on the fate of the ruling SAD, Congress and the PPP parties, besides the individual candidates in the fray.

Going by the trend shown in the exit polls, maximum money has been put on the fate of the Congress party, which is hoping to form the next government in the state. Not only this, the ‘satta’ market is also making its own assessments on the return of Captain Amarinder Singh as the CM of the state.

There have been reports that a few top bureaucrats of the state have also shown keen interest in the 'satta' market. They have kept their favourite political masters busy in the past five weeks giving them the details of the day-to-day trend in the 'satta' market.

Man seeks action against IAS official for harassing his wife
Kulwinder Sandhu
TNS

Moga, March 5
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has marked an inquiry against Jeram Beda, IAS, SDM-cum-Returning Officer of Nihalsinghwala constituency, for allegedly harassing a woman teacher, who gave birth to a baby a couple of months back, by deputing her on poll duty.

Gurpreet Singh of Himmatpura village of Abohar has alleged that his wife Ramanpreet Kaur, a teacher in the Government Girls' Senior Secondary School at Rode village in Moga, was in the maternity mode when she was put on poll duty on January 30 despite the fact that she and their three-month-old baby were suffering from fever in the chilling weather conditions at that time.

He alleged that the SDM of Nihalsinghwala, Jeram Beda made them suffer by ignoring their requests and spoke rudely with them. He also threatened to arrest Ramanpreet Kaur if she asked for relaxation of election duty, the husband rued in his complaint.

When contacted, the District Magistrate-cum-District Electoral Officer B Purushartha, who was asked to send a report in this regard by the EC by Monday evening, said that he has not gone through the complaint and was unaware of whether a report has been sought from him.