Punjab Assembly election: Battle for Malwa heats up, Congress in aggressive campaign mode
The entire royal family of Patiala has spread across the Malwa region and are campaigning hard to woo the voters.
As the Assembly elections are nearing, battle for Malwa in Punjab is also heating up. Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are pushing in their entire resources in Malwa region to win this crucial area of Punjab.
As out of 117 Assembly seats in Punjab, 69 lie in Malwa region, parties ae trying hard to win as many as possible.
Congress, led by Punjab unit head Maharaja of Patiala Captain Amarinder Singh, has chalked out a 'whirlwind' election campaign to win the Malwa region. The entire royal family of Patiala has spread across the Malwa region and are campaigning hard to woo the voters.
Adding to this, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will also start his 3-day long election campaign in Punjab from January 27. Apart from Majitha, which falls in Majha region of Punjab, the Amethi MP will spend maximum time in Malwa region addressing rallies and meeting other leading Punjabi industrialists.
Commenting on the involvement of the royal family in the campaign, Maharani Parneet Kaur said, "Malwa is our home. It is our strength and if Congress if good in Malwa, it is due to Maharaja Captain Amarinder Singh."
Randhir Singh, brother of Captain Amarinder Singh said, "Most of Malwa was part of Patiala estate. Lot of people still have regards for the family and we are confident that we will pull it through. Our entire family is here, holding fort for Captain Amarinder Singh."
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Moti Mahal turns into war room:
As the battle for Malwa rages on, Moti Mahal Palace - the home of royal family of Patiala - has turned into a war room.
"Those who fight elections, their homes turn into a war room. In Moti Mahal, all the mornings and late nights are full of activity and in the afternoon, we all go out to campaign."
Captain Amarinder Singh, Maharani Parneet Kaur, their daughter Jai Inder Kaur and other royal family members along with the Congress leaders and workers monitor the situation at ground zero. Discussions, feedbacks and reports from entire Malwa are taken into considertaion before starting a day. Entire brainstorming sessions to chart out the strategy of the Congress in Malwa these days takes place in Moti Mahal only.
Jai Inder Kaur, who is actively involved in the campaigning, said, "Our position is strong in Malwa. We hold the discussion every morning on the information that comes from the ground and we chart out the strategy accordingly. We have divided our family into 7. We discuss the strategy and then they leave for campaigning. The whole family stays in the field for campaigning. In the evening, we again brainstorm on the feedback that we receive from the ground. As days progress, the campaign will become aggressive."
Strongholds:
AAP is strong in the districts of Bhatinda, Faridkot, Sangrur, Mansa and Barnala while the strongholds of the Congress are Fazilka, Muktsar, Patiala (Captain Amarinder Singh's other constituency), Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ludhiana.
Maharani Parneet Kaur commenting on the AAP's entry into Punjab said, "Congress is never out of Malwa. They (AAP) have just come in. They have to establish themselves properly first."
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