Sacrifice,inequality… A martyr’s kin makes all the right noises

A businessman by profession,Sandhu who begins his campaign early in the morning,visits about 15 villages every day and in the evening holds a public meeting in this small dusty town. In all of his meetings,he talks about Bhagat Singh’s ideology.

At every village,his close supporters who accompany him,first build momentum by introducing him to villagers as the nephew of the freedom fighter. A good orator,Sandhu properly clad in warm clothes with the PPP’s yellow scarf around his neck,then begins: “ I belong to the legendary family of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and you know what he did for the nation and thus we have to bring change in Punjab for the betterment of the people”.

“We have to bring change in this 65-year-old system which was set-up by the British,” he adds.

Then focussing on corruption,Sandhu says: “It has become a part of the system and this system needs to be changed”. The PPP candidate also stresses on much needed development that this constituency did not get for the last 10 years.

On his campaigning,Sandhu who runs a tile manufacturing unit in Kurali near Chandigarh says: “ From Wednesday it will be a door-to-door campaign and we will distribute the literature of our party and what we will be doing”. The businessman also roped in his 22-year-old son,Abhitej Singh Sandhu to support him and some 15 teams were formed to campaign for this political rookie.

The campaigning hinges on Sandhu’s family history. The PPP candidate is the son of Bhagat Singh’s younger brother,Sardar Kulbir Singh. Both have joined the People’s Party of Punjab,floated by former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

“Bhagat Singh was born as an Indian,fought against the colonial high handedness and ultimately laid down his life for the nation and not for any region,religion or caste,’’ Sandhu says.

“His (Bhagat’s) fight was not against the British or against the white skin; his fight was against the unfair system and the disparity that existed in society. He wanted the fruits of labour to be distributed equally and this problem still prevails. Successive governments have not remained true to his image and ideology”.