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PM ends Punjab campaign with open border promise
Ludhiana, May 09: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday addressed his third and last election rally in Punjab, and assured people that his government would open up the state`s borders with Pakistan.
Ludhiana, May 09: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday addressed his third and last election rally in Punjab, and assured people that his government would open up the state's borders with Pakistan.
Vajpayee highlighted the steps taken by his NDA government to open up borders with the neighbouring country. The ''open borders'' card has been highlighted by candidates across the political spectrum in Punjab. With six of the state's 13 constituencies bordering Pakistan, candidates have been promising that they will open borders.
Vajpayee's rally yesterday equalled Congress president Sonia Gandhi's record of rallies she addressed in this state.
Vajpayee started campaigning in the state early, when on March 18 he addressed his first rally at Patiala. Vajpayee, along with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, addressed a second rally at Amritsar on March 26 when Advani finished the first leg of his Bharat Uday Yatra in the holy city.
Both Vajpayee and Gandhi saw a large turnout at their rallies. While Mrs Gandhi addressed her biggest rally in Punjab at Sunam Friday, Vajpayee earned the honour yesterday at Ludhiana's Puda ground on the city outskirts.
Though Vajpayee's Amritsar rally was a poor showit was the same case with Mrs Gandhi's rally at Phagwara on May three. The turnout at the Prime Minister's Patiala rally matched that of the Congress president's at Pathankot.
Like Mrs Gandhi, Vajpayee too yesterday had to refer to his notes when he mixed up the names of Akali chief Parkash Singh Badal and local Akali candidate Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, addressing Badal as ''Parkash Singh Dhillon''.
Unlike Advani, who was asked by the Deputy Commissioner in Patna to wind up his speech when he went beyond the deadline of 2200 hrs, Vajpayee finished his 16-minute extempore speech dot at 1700 hrs when the campaign closed in the country for the fourth and last phase of polling on May ten.
Bureau Report
Vajpayee highlighted the steps taken by his NDA government to open up borders with the neighbouring country. The ''open borders'' card has been highlighted by candidates across the political spectrum in Punjab. With six of the state's 13 constituencies bordering Pakistan, candidates have been promising that they will open borders.
Vajpayee's rally yesterday equalled Congress president Sonia Gandhi's record of rallies she addressed in this state.
Vajpayee started campaigning in the state early, when on March 18 he addressed his first rally at Patiala. Vajpayee, along with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, addressed a second rally at Amritsar on March 26 when Advani finished the first leg of his Bharat Uday Yatra in the holy city.
Both Vajpayee and Gandhi saw a large turnout at their rallies. While Mrs Gandhi addressed her biggest rally in Punjab at Sunam Friday, Vajpayee earned the honour yesterday at Ludhiana's Puda ground on the city outskirts.
Though Vajpayee's Amritsar rally was a poor showit was the same case with Mrs Gandhi's rally at Phagwara on May three. The turnout at the Prime Minister's Patiala rally matched that of the Congress president's at Pathankot.
Like Mrs Gandhi, Vajpayee too yesterday had to refer to his notes when he mixed up the names of Akali chief Parkash Singh Badal and local Akali candidate Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, addressing Badal as ''Parkash Singh Dhillon''.
Unlike Advani, who was asked by the Deputy Commissioner in Patna to wind up his speech when he went beyond the deadline of 2200 hrs, Vajpayee finished his 16-minute extempore speech dot at 1700 hrs when the campaign closed in the country for the fourth and last phase of polling on May ten.
Bureau Report