Elaborate security arrangements for Beas poll

Amritsar, Mar 10 (UNI) Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Beas assembly constituency, which goes to the polls tomorrow.

An estimated 1,42,089 voters will exercice their franchise in the 129 booths in this rural dominated segment. Twenty companies of the Para Military Forces (PMF) and the state commandos have been deployed in addition to the local police in the segment. Polling will commence at 0800 hrs and end at 1700 hrs.

There are 12 candidates in the fray, which include sitting MLA and Congress candidate Jasbir Singh Dimpa and Manjinder Singh Kang of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which in alliance with the BJP captured power in Punjab in the February polls. The BSP has also fielded Tarsem Singh, but the main contest is confined between the Congress and the SAD.

The counting of votes will be taken on March 14. As in the rest of the state, EVMs will be used for voting in the constituency.

The elections in Beas were postponed to March 11 on the directions of the Election Commission (EC) which found the security arrangements made by the then state government 'not condusive to a free and fair poll'. Poll violence in the constituency claimed the life of a SAD supporter on January 29.

After the incident, an FIR on the statement of SAD leaders was registered against Dimpa, his brothers, Rajan and Harman, a SP ranking officer in the Punjab Police and 13 others after the death of the Akali activist. So far the police has arrested Rajan and five others including three Punjab Police personnel in the case.

Dimpa had made a number of pleas before the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab, requesting that the election in the constituency should be held before February 27, the day the results for 116 segments were declared. However the EC stuck to its stand and turned down all pleas of the Congress candidate, who maintained that the poll could not be termed 'free and fair' after the declaration of the results in 116 constituencies.

The campaign in Beas had started on a high pitched note much before the filing of papers started last month. However after the EC deferred the polls to March, the candidates and the voters lost interest in the elections.

After the formation of the SAD-BJP government on March two, the campaign once again picked up with the new Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and other senior SAD and BJP leaders addressing a number of poll rallies in favour of Mr Kang. The SAD-BJP which had won 67 seats in the February polls wants to win this seat to increase their tally to 68.

On the other hand there was little or no enthusiasm amongst the Congress leaders, after the loss in the assembly polls in which they won 44 seats and handed over the reins of power to the SAD-BJP.

State Congress chief Shamsher Singh Dullo had addressed election rallies in favour on Dimpa this week, but former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh kept away from Beas after being dislodged from the seat of power and only came to the constituency yesterday to canvass support for his party candidate.

UNI