Badal is ringmaster, for now

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">DENWIND/MUSKVEB/BISHANPURA: As Badal''s convoy moves on, villages with out-of-this-world names fly past. Ogres and witches are connected to village names here.<br /><br />Blue and saffron turbans perched atop attentive faces greet him in fairly large numbers in all these villages.<br /><br />Women have turned up in saffron<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> chunnis</span>.<br /><br />They are glad that a woman is present in the Akali team in the form of Bibi Jagir Kaur.She delivers vote-catching speeches. She introduces the theme of evil, when talking about Congress.<br /><br />Parkash Singh Badal had 10 villages on his itinerary on Thursday.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />In each village the audience listened to him in rapt attention. It seemed as if the time was ripe after two-and-a-half years for an anti-establishment mood. His speeches were variations on the same theme. He played psychologist, knowing where the crowd''s nerve centre was situated.<br /><br />"Now you have all seen for yourself what has been snatched from you. The electricity board meter readers never bothered you for full five years. How your budget has been burdened now... The traders are full of resentment as octroi has been re-imposed. You are now feeling guilty of choosing the wrong party. I quite understand. You will get a chance on the 13th to wash this guilt," he said.<br /><br />"A government has certain responsibilities towards the people. It is the job of the state to provide health care, education, good roads, development projects and a lot more," he said.<br /><br />Laughter followed. He played on the word poonjna, using it to imply that the Congress government wiped out all the good things started by the Akali government. The Akalis also sympathised with the village sarpanches who had false police cases registered against them.</div> </div>