Gurdaspur, February 14

Verbal skirmishes were the order of the day during elections to the two Municipal Corporations and six municipal committees in the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency today even as some adept policing ensured violence-free poll.

Authorities had yesterday claimed that Qadian, Dhariwal and Batala were likely to be “hotspots”, but no untoward incident was reported from the areas today. In Qadian, sitting MLA Fateh Jung Bajwa appealed to the public to maintain peace.

“I was informed by officials that trouble was brewing in my Assembly seat, Qadian, and that I should make an appeal to people. My pleas worked,” said Fateh.

Senior police officers admitted his appeal helped their cause in a big way.

In Batala, nearly 150 cops were deployed in ward No. 34, where Naveen Nayyar, Congress candidate and sister of former three-time MLA Ashwani Sekhri, is pitted against former Congressman and ex-vice president of the MC Harinder Kalsi. Despite police presence, supporters of both groups entered a verbal duel, leading to a potentially volatile situation. — TNS

Smooth polls in Gurdaspur
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