Ahead of the municipal corporation elections,scheduled to be held on June 7,the campaigning has reached its crescendo with senior leaders of both the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and Congress landing in the city. Deep Malhotra,the Faridkot MLA and a well-known liquor baron who has a huge business interest in the city,could be seen campaigning for his party,the SAD,in various areas,including Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar,in the city. While the tenor of these elections is set and a majority of senior leaders from both the parties are playing behind-the-scenes roles,the battle is set between Harish Rai Dhanda,the former Akali MLA,and Bharat Bhushan Ashoo,the first-time Congress MLA from Ludhiana west. A hoard of pictures and banners of these two leaders can be seen in a major section of the city,and candidates in the fray are openly asking for votes in the name of Ashoo and Dhanda. While Dhanda is an established Akali leader and a mayoral candidate of the party in case they along with the coalition partner,Bharatiya Janata Party,romp home to victory,it is interesting to see Ashoo shooting to glory and eclipsing most of the senior party leaders. Although Congress leaders MP Manish Tewari and Jassi Khangura participated in the campaign,other leaders are missing from the scene. An optimistic Akali contingent,Malhotra says,is 100 per cent sure of victory. Dhanda is already the mayor of the city. We are just working to ensure that we rout the Congress completely. The Akali campaign is being handled by senior Akali leader Janmejah Singh Sekhon while the Congress has sent in its contingent comprising leaders like Arvind Khanna,Joginderpal Jain,Gurkirat Singh Kotlli,Harminder Singh Pardhan,Gurdip Singh Bhaini and Malkiat Singh Dakha,to name a few.
