Upbeat Amarinder goes into overdrive

JALANDHAR/KARTARPUR: Bubbling withexcitement over the upsurge at the national level after reports of lukewarmturnouts and exit polls after the first two round of elections, the Congress inPunjab went into ‘offbeat mode.’ Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh decided to address the media in a jumbo Pritam Bus Service buschartered from Jalandhar to Kartarpur. A chair with inlaid look-alike ivory madein the known Kartarpur genre, with a phulkari cushion, was placed in the busfacing the passenger seats and the CM parrying volleys of questions, continuedto harp on the ‘feel good’ and ‘India shining’ bubble ofthe NDA government bursting. The bus, full of scribes who had beenwaiting since 8.30 am, reached Haveli, the ethnic restaurant on GT Road, wherethe chief minister’s cavalcade was intercepted, at around 11.30 am. Due toin-clement weather, Amarinder had to reach the spot by car. Waiters from Havelidressed in the Punjabi ethnic ‘chadra’ and colourful waist coatscame aboard the bus serving cheese pakoras and samosas. Once the CMentered, it was a melee for all those on board as photographers went abouttrying to capture the offbeat mood and the bus rolled on through the countrysideoblivious of the burnt-out stubble in the wheat fields, the ramshackle khokhas,stagnant ponds, waiting traffic and markets. It seemed to be a different worldin the bus. Addressing mediapersons, the CM dwelt on the themes ofdevelopment and said that Punjab was at last back on the road to progress withMNCs like Quark, Tell and Microsoft investing heavily and the possibility ofmillions of jobs in the IT Park being set up in Mohali. “In the next roundof electioneering, we will defeat the BJP-led NDA coalition and in the lastphase, we will boot them out,� he said. Saying that there wereover 30 crore people living under the poverty-line. “It was the same poorwho had rallied behind Mahatma Gandhi during the Freedom struggle who were nowteaching the BJP and other allied parties a lesson,� he said. Later, theCM along with the Jalandhar party candidate Rana Gurjit Singh addressed anelection rally. The tone and tenor of the CM’s speech here tooreflected a newly-found confidence. Rana Gurjit thanked the CM effusively forhaving helped him with the ticket. At Kapurthala again, the election campaigntook on a festive mood with the people weighing the CM againstcoins.