A 'prasad' of liquor and flaring tempers

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KAPURTHALA: In the humdrum of electioneering, this is one place in the Kapurthala Vidhan Sabha constituency where partaking liquor is more of a prasad than an election allurement.<br /><br />At the Baba Kahn Das gurdwara here, devotees make a beeline, bowl in hand, accepting <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">prasad</span>.And if any candidates or their supporters come with an offering and serve it among voters as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">prasad</span>, the Election Commission can only frown at its limitation to check it.<br /><br />For at the gurdwara one finds bottles of premier and ordinary liquor lined up, some offered by NRIs from the village after their wishes were granted.<br /><br />"Some 500-600 devotees visit the gurdwara every day for the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">prasad</span>," says an attendant, adding that with the by-election round the corner the numbers would swell by the day.<br /><br />Liberal circulation of liquor in the village has an obvious fall-out — tension between Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal supporters. While villagers, out of devotion and respect, would not distribute liquor at the gurdwara, the fact is that it has a strong bearing on electioneering in one of the most thickly populated villages in the district.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Village sarpanch Mohinder Kaur says every night villagers have anxious moments, as rowdy elements, in a drunken state, roam around the village, knocking at the doors of political rivals. The police are witness to this but refuse to venture out of the police station. Mohinder Kaur blamed Congress workers for spreading terror in the village. "At night they tear off SAD posters and banners and threaten people into supporting the Congress," she adds, regretting that the police has received repeated complaints but refused to take action.<br /><br />Tension in the village finds its reflection in neighbouring villages. Villagers would rather not speak about the election and related issues.<br /><br />In nearby Bhaini village, people have not ruled out the possibility of violence breaking out close to the polling days. They said both liquor and "<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">bhuki</span>" would be freely circulated among villagers as the day of reckoning draws closer. "Bhuki" is served as an alternative to liquor, mostly among people of backward classes.</div> </div>