Parties toil for a high turnout

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">JALANDHAR: Low turnout in the first two rounds of polls has pressed the panic button for parties that have put efforts in top gear to woo the electorate to the polling booths.<br /><br />With the D-day drawing closer, the anxiety has reached fever pitch and political platoons have been assigned all sorts of tasks to cajole the voters to come out and vote, and if required ferry them to the polling booths.<br /><br />Parties were preparing armies of workers, who would be provided voters’ lists and vehicles to bring voters out of their houses.Observers said that efforts in earnest could increase the turnout by at least 20 per cent.<br /><br />Interestingly, some of the parties were making arrangements to ensure that certain villages and communities do not vote.<br /><br />Some villages of Punjab are reportedly divided into ‘pattis’ (a word used to describe different belts or loyalties in a village) that owe allegiance to a particular party.<br /><br />Usually, the loyalties are an open secret, so parties make all-out efforts to ensure that ‘pattis’ that are against them do not exercise their franchise, said veteran politicians, who were well-versed with the old tricks of the trade.<br /><br />“Bhooki (poppy husk), smack, opium and liquor is being stocked and will be served to those communities who are not required to cast their votes,� sources said.<br /><br />In certain villages along the Satluj, known as the ‘Bet’ area, where smuggling is quite common, the illicit stills have started functioning on the assurance by party workers that the police or excise officials won’t touch them.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />The strategy is to depute 12,000 to 17,000 party workers, depending on the cadre base and resources of the party to carry voters. In a constituency of, say 12 lakh voters, like in Jalandhar, up to 20 workers were being employed for each booth. As there were 1,200 booths, around 24,000 workers would be deployed. Apart from money, they would be provided food and water. The training has already started.<br /><br />Sources in the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal said that at least two persons per booth would be deployed to detect bogus voters, two workers would stand outside with voters’ lists to help and guide voters and there would be at least 10 to 15 persons manning vehicles to ferry voters.<br /><br />However, only time will tell if this strategy works as voters were disenchanted with Parliamentarians’ performance and feel that these Lok Sabha elections, which they called ‘upper walian electionan’, would not be able to make much of a difference.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>