MAGHI MELA RALLIES TODAY: Parties work overtime to outdo each other; Badal, Amarinder, Kejriwal set to spell out agenda for 2017 polls

MAGHI MELA RALLIES TODAY

Parties work overtime to outdo each other

Badal, Amarinder, Kejriwal set to spell out agenda for 2017 polls

Day’s importance

• Maghi Mela is held every year on January 14 to pay tributes to 40 "Muktas" (liberated ones) who laid down their lives while fighting the last battle of Sikhs against the Mughals in 1705 at Khidrane di dhab, now known as Sri Muktsar Sahib.

Impact of rallies

• The political rallies this year assume importance since the Assembly elections are due next year and there will be no such programmes due to the model code of conduct. All parties will spell out their poll agenda.

Weather worries

• A sudden change in the weather, with the town getting witnessing light showers last light, has left the rally organisers worried.

Cops on toes

• The police are on their toes, especially after the Pathankot terror attack. IGP Bathinda zone JK Jain is overseeing the security arrangement in the area.

AAP activists upbeat

• Aam Aadmi Party activists are coming from as far as Pune. A Twitter user from Pune uploaded his selfie, saying, "Travelled 2,000 km to attend Maghi Mela rally." Udey Bhan of UP came from Ludhiana by foot. "I covered 150 km journey in three days,” he said.

Preparations afoot at a political rally venue in Muktsar on Wednesday. tribune photo

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, January 13

The stage is set for a fight of political one-upmanship between the SAD, Congress and AAP on the occasion of Maghi Mela tomorrow. 

The political rallies this year assume importance due to the Assembly elections next year when there will be no such programmes due to model code of conduct. All major parties will spell out their poll agenda tomorrow.

SAD patron and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, AAP national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh will take on each other at their respective rallies.

The Akali Dal will hold its rally at Rupana village on the Muktsar-Malout road, AAP on the Bathinda road opposite the Police Lines and the Congress on the Kotkapura-Bathinda bypass road.

So far as the size of the rally venue is concerned, AAP seems to have an upper hand. Though all parties have created hype over the size of their venue, the area is ranging between 10 and 13 acres each. 

The SAD has put up its "pandal" in party colours - blue and saffron. AAP's tent is of yellow colour while the Congress' venue sports the Tri-colour.

Kejriwal's visit and last Maghi Mela rallies before the 2017 Assembly elections have added importance to this year's events.

Meanwhile, a sudden change in the weather, with the town witnessing light showers last night, has left the rally organisers worried. 

While all parties have made the dais waterproof, the area for the public has not been covered fully. Last year, the rain had caused trouble for the political outfits forcing them to make special arrangements overnight.

SAD chief and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal will arrive at the rally venue by road in a procession. Amarinder is expected to reach Sarainaga village at the residence of local MLA Karan Kaur Brar tonight. Kejriwal who visited Gurdaspur today will arrive here tomorrow.

The police are on their toes, especially after the Pathankot terror attack. IGP Bathinda zone JK Jain is overseeing the security arrangement in the area.

Some outfits such as SAD (Amritsar) and Sikh hardliner groups are holding their conference on the Dera Bhai Mastan Singh road. The Bharti Kisan Union (Rajowal) will meet on the Bathinda-Malout bypass road and the Tarksheel Society will hold a programme on the Bhai Mastan Singh Dera road.

Unemployed linemen have already announced to disrupt the SAD rally. They had been staging a protest for the past several years. Last year, a protester had tried to immolate himself near the SAD rally venue.