Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, January 9
Rising above political affiliations, voters of all nine Assembly seats of Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency have welcomed the Election Commission’s ban on public gatherings, even as leading politicians opined that “rallies were their staple diet during electioneering” and urged the poll panel to revoke the ban.
Reconsider decision
How is it possible to contest an election without organising gatherings? I don’t know what ‘flattening the curve’ means. All I know is my political graph will be flattened by no rallies. — Lakhbir Lodhinangal, SAD Candidate
An ex-Cabinet minister, who did not want to be named fearing he may be caught in the ECI’s line of fire, wondered how he and others of his ilk would do without rallies. “It is not possible to stay in contact with the masses if we do not hold gatherings. Moreover, such events act as a barometer to gauge our strength and also to gauge the weakness of the rival candidates. After all, in electoral politics it all boils down to numbers. If I hold a gathering and 500 people attend it, I am sure at least 350 will vote for me,” he said.
However, voters and health officials fighting Covid are on the same page on the issue.
“What purpose does a rally serve in any case? The political class should understand that it is imperative to prohibit gatherings if we have to save our already fragile health systems, which couldn’t keep up to the burgeoning demand for oxygen and hospital beds last year,” said Harbans Singh Dala, who addresses himself as a “veteran voter”.
Gurdaspur leaders denounce rally ban, residents hail move
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