The candid admission made by Bhatinda MP Harsimrat Badal during one of her Sangat Darshans that the (Chief Minister) Parkash Singh Badals family was not allowed to enter Gidderbaha all these years may not be entirely incorrect. The constituency is Peoples Party of Punjab president Manpreet Singh Badals bastion. And with several leaders rebelling against the Shiromani Akali Dal (B) and joining Manpreet,it is not an easy going for the first family of Punjab,at least for now. Over the last few days the chief minister,Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat have been extensively touring the area and have been distributing grants and making promises for more in the villages that swear by the name of Manpreet Badal. These villages have always been with Manpreet even when he was with the SAD(B). Even then we voted for Manpreet and not for the party, says Teja Singh,a resident of village Khare. The venue of Harsimrat Kaurs meeting was built by Manpreet. People come to these rallies to get their work done. Some one wants pension,some want benefits of the atta dal scheme. That is all, he said,adding that this is Manpreets fort. The statement made by Harsimrat that she had come for Darshan of the people who had accorded so much respect to the Badal family is an indicator of the fact that these Badals have never come to this area. They never found the need to do so for Manpreet and his family were always here. Manpreet knows each and every person. And this kind of thing matters a lot in rural areas where the entire community is a kind of extended family, explains Nachhatar Singh,a resident of village Bhalaiana. It is not lost on the people of this area that while Harsimrat began her Sangat Darshan on November 22,her father-in-law and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal toured the area just a couple of days. The listed schedule says that after the bahu ends her programme,CM is likley to visit the area again,followed by another visit by Harsimrat during the first week of December when Sukhbir is also expected to come to Gidderbaha. For the last 25 to 30 years,people here have voted either for the SAD(B) or the Congress. This election is a test,for it would be interesting to see as to how the the votes gets divided (between Manpreet and SAD). Both of them have been anti-Congress. No congress supporter has been heard in this area for the last four years, says Bant Singh,a congress supporter. The fight is within the family now but the scales are tipped towards Manpreet. If the SAD wants to defeat him they should bring in the Chief Minister and no one else, he added.
