Congress offers Flipkart vouchers for Capt Amarinder Singh quiz, draws flak

Questions primarily revolve around the Punjab Congress president: Which is the first book written by Captain Amarinder Singh? On what date did he take oath for first time as CM of Punjab? With how many states does Punjab share its border with?

The Congress has been offering Rs 1,500-worth Flipkart vouchers every day and even for those who answer incorrectly. Daily prizes include a Captain’s Award (for the first person to answer all three questions correctly – Rs 500 voucher); Genius Award (First person to answer two questions correctly- Rs 200 voucher), Smartness Award (first person to answer one question correctly – Rs 100 voucher), People’s Choice award (For the comment with maximum number of ‘Likes’ – Rs 500 voucher) and the Fastest Fingers First (a Rs 200 voucher for the very first comment). ‘Attractive prizes’ are also being awarded for 140-word comments on the title ‘Punjab of My Dreams.’

This strategy, however, is earning more criticism than accolades, with some social media users terming it as an attempt to ‘bribe’ them before the assembly polls next year.

“If the Congress accuses SAD of bribing voters during elections with freebies and cash, then how is this different? The awards being given are not even logical. What is the purpose of giving gifts even to those who get maximum ‘Likes’ on their comment or to the one who comments first?” Rashi Sood, a college student, said.

“Gifts being offered by Captain are not going to help the poor and unemployed. Why should we get a gift for writing 140 words on problems of our Punjab? Captain, please stop exploiting problems of people for his political benefits,” reads a comment on the page by Rajveer Sidhu.

A representative from Captain’s PR team denied suggestions that this amounted to bribing voters. “It is just a way to connect with people. The gift vouchers idea has been started by Prashant Kishor who is handling our campaign. We are not bribing voters in any way,” the representative said.