With Punjab scheduled to go to the Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday, the high-voltage campaign has seen some 1,500 NRIs descending on the state to pitch for the various political parties, including the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD)-BJP and the AAP in their respective regions.
Initially, there was not much response from the NRIs. But as the D-Day approaches, the diaspora has been taking an active interest in the rough and tumble of the campaign.
Earlier, the NRIs used to campaign for the Congress and the SAD but in this elections they have been supporting the AAP by raising funds as well as taking part in the campaign.
According to fellow NRI Jasbir Singh,”I have been coming to Punjab during every election to campaign in favour of the Congress but this time I am supporting the AAP candidates and has campaigned for them in Ludhiana, Sangrur, Amritsar and Patiala”.
The US-based Manjit Singh Dasuya has been campaigning for the SAD-BJP from Tanda in Hoshiarpur district, from where he originally hails, for the past one month.
“I take lot of interest in elections in Punjab, be it the Assembly or Lok Sabha,” he said.
“With the Indian diaspora in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and France comprising a sizable section of Punjabis, the bitterly fought LS poll campaign has acquired a pan-global character on account of the participation of the NRIs,” says Punjab NRI Sabha president, Jasvir Singh Gill.
According to Dr Gurdev Gill, “This time, the NRIs are taking a far more active interest as compared to any of the previous elections; the reason is that they want a change in the system,” he said.