For election ticket,anything from dyed in ‘caste’ letters to English speaking skills

Admitting that he moves around with the letters the support,Sidhu said: “I am an advocate and a postgraduate in English. My voters are educated and I am proficient enough to communicate with them in English. I have the support of the bar association,Lions Club,chemist association and various market associations. Out of the total 1.5 lakh voters in Ludhiana (West),I have the direct support of over 60 per cent of voters. So,I can win easily.”

Other aspirants from this seat — district Congress president Pawan Dewan,MLA Harmohinder Singh Pardhan,councillors Gurpreet Gogi,Bharat Bhushan Ashu,Amritvarsha Rampal and Satwinder Singh Jawaddi — have already submitted their bio-data to the party observer.

In Khanna constituency,Congress ticket aspirants,including Hardev Singh Rosha ,have met the observer,alongwith their supporters.

SAD councillor Gurminder Singh Lali is also busy making rounds to meet the chief minister and his deputy,alongwith delegations and support letters. The Market Committee Chairman of Khanna,Lakhvir Singh Kalalmajra,claims to have the support of village panchayats. Rural supporters are his major votebank,he says in his bio-data.

Meanwhile,in Abohar,BJP aspirants are making their presence felt by making caste politics their poll plank. Arun Narang,an aspirant,said: “I have the support of Arora Khatri voters and am in the race for the ticket from Abohar.” Another BJP leader,Dr Ram Kumar Goyal,had held a meeting with the members of Ghumar community — he claims to have the support of more than 30,000 voters. Abohar has nearly 1.35 voters.

Further in Fazilka,Congress old-timer Dr Mohinder Rinwa claims that he is the only contestant from the seat. However,while another aspirant,Atul Nagpal,claims to have the support of the Arora community,leader Jangir Kamboj is busy holding meetings of Kamboj and Rai Sikh communities.

Out of the total 1.5 lakh voters in Fazilka,while 50,000 are Rai Sikhs,40,000 are from the Arora community. So,support of a caste matters a lot,say the leaders.

Congress’ Parminder Singh Pinki,aspirant from Ferozepur city,however,maintains: “A seasoned leader does not need to show support letters. The public is with me and that is enough.”