It’s an AAPCong tossup for Punjab truckers
MISRULE Badals have ruined the state, feel transporters
NAWANSHAHR/HOSHIARPUR/PATHANKOT: Sukhbir Singh is angry and for a variety of reasons. In Gurdaspur, where he’s from, he says the families of fallen soldiers have been given a raw deal. The widows of those martyred in last year’s terror attack in Pathankot — the border town where he’s headed — are still running from pillar to post for their compensation, he claims.
Driving his truck through the electorally significant Doaba region, Gagandeep and his assistant, 24-yearold Sukhbir, survey a landscape that, they say, has been chronically maladministered. As the winter morning breeze makes the cabin colder, the two get agitated, recounting their litany of woes in poll-bound Punjab.
Son of an ex-army man, Sukhbir is a class 12th pass-out. His immediate surrounding never held out hope and he is employed as a low-paid helper in a truck and gets to drive occasionally when the driver opts to rest. Driven by despair, many in his village have left: his younger brother Jaspreet is waiting for a medical test before he can attempt to go abroad.
Sukhbir has no means to escape the dreary existence and hopes that the assembly elections on February 4 will change things for the better.
He and Gagandeep differ on the possible outcome of the polls. Gagandeep feels the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will win. Sukhbir is not so sure which of the two —AAP or Congress — will emerge victorious, though he agrees the Badals will lose due to anger against the ruling family. The two men, however, agree on one thing —Punjab desperately requires a ‘surgical strike’ to set right the wrongs. And both feel that residents of Doaba —the region with 23 seats — will determine Punjab’s future course in great measure.
A large number of AAP supporters from abroad have begun campaigning in Doaba, also famous as the NRI belt. Sukhbir, on the contrary, says Congress, led by Captain Amarinder Singh, has an edge. The party had won six of the 23 seats in 2012 and hopes to improve its tally. It has fielded sugar baron Rana Gurjit Singh — Punjab’s richest candidate — from Kapurthala.
The duo pulls up at a roadside dhaba in Machiwara for lunch and other drivers join them in an animated discussion on the polls. Manjeet Singh, 47, a trucker for 26 years, is angry with the Badals, so much so that he blames them for taking credit for roads built by the Union government.
“A government driver is paid ₹20,000 and a private driver barely makeshalfthatamountdespiteworking for 24 hours. We also have children to raise. We want change too, no matter who comes to power,” he says.
Deep in Doaba, drug abuse is an issue topping the election agenda alongside unemployment. Most residents blame the administration for the festering menace. “Why do drivers have to depend on drugs to travel at night? The demand will decrease if the supply is reduced,” suggests Gagandeep. As the truck travels past a police training camp in Jalandhar, the conversation between the two turns to corruption and nepotism.
“Punjabis either want to farm or join the army or police force. Under Badal rule, even a 7ft high candidate is not selected while a 5ft gets a job in police, just because he is close to the ruling family,” Sukhbir says.
The issues confronting Doaba have been crying out for redressal for long. Politicians and their parties have promised solutions but failed to deliver, resulting in voter fatigue.
Nearly 400km into their journey stretching 23 hours, both Gagandeep and Sukhbir are visibly tired. An agreement still eludes them on who will win. Then they decide to let it go: “Ki farq painda paaji. Chalani to truck hi hai na (How does it matter to us...We will continue to drive trucks anyway,” Sukhbir sighed, as
Pathankot neared. 4