Battle for Amritsar: Will Arun Jaitley pay for SAD's misgovernance?

Zee Media Bureau/Biplob Ghosal

New Delhi: The fight for the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency is being viewed as one of the most interesting contest as senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley and Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh have locked horns against each other.

While, Narendra Modi 'wave' may come as a boon for many BJP leaders who are contesting the Lok Sabha polls, the going is certainly tough for Jaitley, all thanks to the incumbent Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab which is in alliance with the BJP.

Wide range of issues like the drug menace, sand mafia, graft, police atrocities, rise in prices of construction material and property tax, which have risen rapidly under the SAD rule may play a hindrance for Jaitley.

Reports have emerged, which allege that that SAD leader Bikram Majithia is involve in drug trade and sand mafia.

The fate of Jaitley will only be clear on May 16, however, going by the anger amongst the electorates towards the Punjab government, it might play a spoilsport for the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, even though one can never really predict the outcome of an election till the last vote is counted.

Voting was held today for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab where as many as 253 candidates are in the fray.

The Congress had won eight seats in 2009. The Akalis won four seats last time while the BJP won one seat.

The entry of AAP also may change the equations on at least 7-8 seats in the state. Some of the AAP candidates like Bhagwant Mann, HS Phoolka and cardiologist-social activist Dharamveer Gandhi have the potential to be winners in a tight contest on their respective seats. AAP is said to be getting support from the middle class, youth and even Punjab's peasantry.