Monday, March 14, 2011

Politicos flex muscles : Poster war defacing public places in Fazilka

 Praful C. Nagpal

Fazilka, December 28
To derive political mileage, a virtual war in installing the flex board hoardings at prominent sites in and around the town among the political leaders has begun. The town can been seen dotted with the flex boards installed by politicians. The hoardings have been installed at public places allegedly by flouting the norms.

The sitting MLA, former MLA and self-proclaimed candidates, which include 'keen' contenders of the national and regional political parties of the ruling and opposition, have installed huge hoardings with almost a common theme of wishing happy new year and Lohri to the people of the area.

The main reason for the war of hoardings and enhancement in the number of aspirants for the legislature in the coming elections is the change in geography of the Fazilka assembly segment. Even the less popular aspirants for the membership of the legislature are projecting themselves to be the champions of the common man.

Those whose hoardings have been installed include two-time sitting BJP MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani, two-time former MLA Mohinder Rinwa, new contender for the Congress party ticket, former PPCC secretary Davinder Sachdeva, another aspirants for Congress ticket, local youth and member, Task Force, Ministry of Food Processing Atul Nagpal.

Following the delimitation and substantial increase in the Rai Sikh votes, young lawyer Sukhjit Singh Sukha and strongman Jaswinder Singh Rocky have also installed their hoardings.

There are about half a dozen known aspirants in different political parties including the Improvement Trust chairman Mohinder Pratap Dhingra of BJP, Bunty Bedi, considered to be a family friend of the PPCC chief Amarinder Singh, former MLA Mehtab Singh and former PPCC general secretary Jaspinder Singh Jakhar, who had contested the recent Assembly elections unsuccessfully as a rebel Congress party candidate. They have perhaps chosen to stay away from the war of hoardings.

"I do not want to indulge in the war of posters. Instead, I want to work at the grassroots level only," says Mohinder Prataph Dhingra. As per the information gathered by this correspondent, some of the aspirants, who have installed the hoardings, have not even paid the requisite charges to the contractors, who have been authorised by the local Municipal Council to collect the revenue.

A functionary of the administration, while requesting anonymity, said the poster war has defaced some areas but they are helpless due to the interference of the political bigwigs

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