Truckers seek a new political route
13 of Punjab’s 22 districts and accounting for 69 of the 117 MLAs it elect, Gagandeep pours out his angst against the political class.
He is fed up with the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress, traditional foes who have taken turns to rule the border-state since independence. This time, however, he says he plans to do ‘kuch nawa’ (something new).
The new element adding to the poll frenzy is Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP and Gagandeep has been swayed by it. “The corruption is never ending here. The cops will harass you if you don’t pay them,” he says, as he takes the service lanes instead of the main road, presumably to avoid police check post in the dead of the night. He reminds that Kejriwal has promised to make Punjab the “first corruptionfree state” in the country if voted to power.
Accompanied in the driver’s cabin by Sukhbir Singh – his helper and part-time driver — Gagandeep presses the pedal and raises his voice. “Sab neta chor hai. Diesel ke daam hamesha badhegein. Par chote sapoole ko saanp banne mein time lagega, jhadu ko hi dekhte hain is baar (Every leader is a thief here. Fuel prices will keep increasing, Baby snakes will take time to grop up as big snakes. Why not give AAP a chance this time”).
Sukhbirnodedinagreement,taking a dim of the politicians — particularly thoseinpower—asvillagesenveloped in darkness whizzed by.
“..Yes(theBadals),theymaderoads butforonlyforthebusesoftheirfamily transportbusiness.Theygavejobsbut toyouthsintheirownbastionsinJalalabad and Lambi,” Sukhbir said.
It is well past midnight and GagandeepstopsatateastallinKotkapuraof Faridkotdistrict.Severalotherdrivers gather around him and the conversation meanders towards last year’s deadly violence in the region over the desecration of the Sikh holy book.
Though mostly on the move, the driversareallrootedtothegroundreality. “We want to sweep out Badals this time.Weknowtheywerehandinglove in the last year’s violence,” says Gurdeep Singh, a fellow truck driver.
Backontheroad,Gagandeepdrove fast.Atthebreakofdawn,hepulledup into a dhaba for a quick nap on the outskirts of Ludhiana. The sun had not risen and the mood was bleak. “We work for 12 hours and we earn a pittance,” he complained.
Somewhat refreshed after the power nap, Gagandeep drove his truck to a yarn manufacturing factory to unload his consignment. He was to drive out of Malwa and head towards Pathankot to pick up his next consignment.
As he pressed on his pedal, he struck a hopeful note shrugging off his resignation. “May be history will be made on February 4,” he said. He is clearly rooting for the AAP. 1 2 3 Bathinda to Kotkapura (Faridkot)
Faridkot to Moga Moga to Ludhiana