Doaba divided: Young want change, the old not so sure

Nawanshahr : With the Assembly polls only four days away, the political divisions within families in Doaba are getting wider. It seems winds of change are blowing in the otherwise placid Doaba which seems to be headed for a keen triangular fight.As two young women wait for a bus at Samundran in Garhshankar constituency, they are discussing politics. We approach government employee Pooja Devi, a first-time voter, and her 27 year old friend Poonam Puri, a telecom executive.They are unhappy at their family elders backing the traditional parties.
“While agreeing that the two traditional parties in Punjab have failed to provide good governance and that the new party in the fray must be given a chance, they are simply unable to sever their ties with the parties they have supported all their lives,” they say.
Major Singh, a farmer from nearby village of Ramgarh, intervenes. “Sannu tirath yatra karayi, te mufat atta dal ditta. Pata nahin navin party eh sab kare ya na (The government took us on a pilgrimage, which was free, and provided us grain under the Atta-Dal Scheme. One is not sure if the new party will provide us such facilities), “ he says. It is this divide between the young and old that more or less defines the mood of the Doaba voter.Yearning for change, young voters are campaigning vigorously for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Pradeep Kumar, a private bank employee, says it is time to shake up the political system. The older generation, however, is more cautious. Shalinder Kaur of Ahma village in Balachaur says her son in the US has been coaxing her into voting for AAP. “My daughters have agreed to do so, but Giani ji (her husband) is with the ‘panja’ (Congress symbol). It’s a middle path that we have chosen to avoid a rift in the family,” she laughs it off.