In Bhagwant Mann’s ancestral village, a tale of sluggish progress, and a wish for more

The scene in Satoj is like any other. The road to the village awaits repair, a self-help group’s building is under construction, the local pond is as dry as a bone, and the tree guards around the pond do not have trees. Only as a posse of police personnel guarding a house come into sight does one realise it is not a village but the home of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

“Photography is not allowed. You need to get permission from the higher-ups,” says a guard posted outside the house. An aluminium shed covers the street leading to the house, providing respite to police officials on guard duty.

Satoj falls under the Sunam Assembly segment of Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, which will see Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Barnala MLA and minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer take on Congress’s Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Iqbal Singh Jhundan of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). All 13 seats of the state go to the polls in the final phase on June 1.

The walls of the village are adorned predominantly with Khaira’s posters, with a few of Hayer’s. “Khaira needs to show his face and make his presence felt but Hayer does not need to do so as the village will vote for broom (AAP’s election symbol) even if the party does not campaign here,” says 55-year-old Karamjit Singh.

The Congress, on the other hand, alleges that AAP leaders have been threatening e-rickshaw drivers against displaying Khaira’s advertisements. “This is happening especially in Sunam. But the people of Punjab do not buckle under pressure,” says a member of Khaira’s team.

Khaira is confident of a victory, saying silent voters fed up with the AAP will vote for him. “Many of them are not coming out in the open but they will give the AAP a befitting reply on polling day,” he tells