Faridkot, Sept. 1 :     Wife, father, mother, friends, relatives, sons, daughters et al, everybody seems to have joined the election bandwagon here. Simply put, it is a family affair. The festival of Baisakhi pales into insignificance before the riot of colours witnessed in this constituency, which decides the fate of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal?s son and Union minister for industries, Sukhbir. It is a high-pitched, no-holds-barred campaign. Faridkot is a politically sensitive constituency and symbolises both Punjab?s landed aristocracy and abject poverty. It is home to top political families that have ruled the state. ?Family? and ?connections? count in the constituency. While Sukhbir, as the Shiromani Akali Dal?s candidate enjoys the advantage of being the chief minister?s son, his closest rival, Jagmeet Singh Brar of the Congress, is linked to former chief minister Harcharan Singh Brar who, though not canvassing for the candidate, is reported to have thrown his lot behind the official nominee. The going, however, is looking difficult for Sukhbir, or ?Kakaji?, as his constituents call him. Though the overall situation remains confusing, undercurrents in several places of the constituency point to a ?teaching-a-lesson-to-the-chief-minister?s-son? sentiment. In village after village, where Sukhbir goes campaigning, his aides distribute a colourful six-page folder introducing ?Kakaji?. The speeches are the same everywhere. ?This election will decide the future of India. Remember, only one vote was responsible for this election.... The Congress is a sinking ship. Sonia Gandhi can never be compared with Atal Behari Vajpayee. Which government would you like, videshi or swadeshi? Read the folder. You had elected me for 5 years, but I got only 13 months,? Sukhbir tells people in the constituency. The chief minister?s son is either weighed in coins or is given money for the election fund. He is garlanded and offered sweets. Sukhbir, in turn, makes sure he touches the feet of the elders and pats children as he mingles with the crowd, much to the chagrin of his security personnel. Kakaji is high on the hit-list of terrorists backed by Pakistan?s ISI. Congress candidate Brar, basking in the success of Sonia Gandhi?s rally at Moga on Saturday, acknowledges the voters? greetings by waving from his car. Several remember the way Sonia said ?Sat Sri Akal?. The campaign style of the rivals is similar. Only the agenda differs. The Congress is exploiting to the hilt the recent incident of the rape of a young girl, in which the son and relatives of agriculture minister Gurdev Singh Badal were allegedly involved. Photocopies of newspaper reports have been distributed in the constituency, forcing the chief minister to spend weeks together in the ?problem? areas where Akali support has been dwindling. S.S. Saini, a resident of Faridkot, who initially refused to remark on the outcome of the polls, bursts into a tirade against Sukhbir when the area?s development is mentioned. ?That is the basis on which the Akalis are seeking votes. But where is the development?? he says, using the choicest of expletives in the local dialect. While Sukhbir is banking on Vajpayee?s charisma and the Kargil victory to see him through, the voters are least interested in national issues. To the rural populace, free electricity for agriculture and the hike in domestic power tariff rates are issues that need addressing. Money plays a major role in the constituency and the Election Commission has already declared Faridkot a ?sensitive? seat. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh has sounded off the police on fears of largescale rigging by the Shiromani Akali Dal, despite the commission deciding to use electronic voting machines. Jagmeet, however, is more confident this time. He feels encouraged by the response he is getting in villages where, he says, small donations are being given to him, a hitherto unknown factor for Congressmen since Operation Bluestar.