In Faridkot, Anmol banks on star blitz, Hans on personal connect
In Faridkot, AAP's Karamjit Anmol has strong celebrity support, while BJP's Hans Raj Hans lacks star campaigners. Anmol's rally attracted big names.
In an artiste vs artiste contest in the Faridkot parliamentary constituency, noted actor Karamjit Anmol, fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), enjoys strong support from the Punjabi film and music industry with celebrities campaigning for him, but no celebrity has showed up to campaign for Sufi singer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Hans Raj Hans.
Among those who have campaigned for Anmol are artistes Gippy Grewal, Binnu Dhillon, Kartar Cheema, Nisha Bano, Harjit Harman, Sippy Gill, BN Sharma and Rupinder Rupi.
For Hans, BJP MP from Delhi’s North West, the only celebrity canvassing for him is his son Hans Navraj Hans.
As per information, AAP’s local leaders spread the message of celebrities’ visit in advance to attract more crowds. During Anmol’s roadshow before filing his nomination papers last week, Gippy Grewal had said, “A lot of artistes have joined politics in the past but you must have noticed that not many artistes from the industry came to support them. But a large number of artistes came for Anmol as he is a genuine person.”
On Saturday, Anmol was accompanied by actors Prince Kanwaljit Singh and Malkeet Rauni in Kotkapura. Anmol said, “Don’t get into rivalries in villages and neighborhoods for politicians. Elections will be a regular feature but you all have to stay together. Always be in a state of progress with mutual harmony. If leaders try to incite division in the name of religion or casteism, beware of them.”
Padma Shri awardee Hans, who has been facing farmers’ ire, said, “I want to be among people, not stars. People are supporting me. The BJP will do a miracle.”
Spread across four districts of Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar and Bathinda, the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat includes all four and three assembly constituencies of Moga and Faridkot, respectively. Gidderbaha of Muktsar and Rampura Phul of Bathinda are also part of the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency.
