General Elections in India is probably just one of those few things that don't undergo any drastic changes whatsoever even after a span of five years. It's the same old story every lustrum, pretty much the same faces - some known and newer ones vying for our attention, the same mud-slinging sessions “left, right and centre”, promising manifestos and half-kept promises.
Yet, every election season brings with itself a handful of candidates who leave a mark in our minds with their manifestos, and give the citizens hope for a better future when such people stand up to take the lead. Their manifestos have a real connect, they are one of our own and somehow they make us believe that unlike the majority, at least they seem to have their hearts in the right place.
Especially when it comes to Lok Sabha elections, we as Indian citizens wish to make a representative out of someone who knows the ground realities, and wishes to genuinely work for a better tomorrow in his constituency.
Two of Punjab's constituencies got lucky to find themselves amidst two such individuals who have shown genuine concern and interest to serve the people and the society they live in. And what's special about them is that, while one of them dishes out delectable burgers for his customers, the other is a Maggi masterchef of his locality.
Meet Rajvinder Pal Singh AKA 'Baba Ji Burger Wale' and Jasbir Singh AKA 'Chacha Maggi Wala' who are among the 278 candidates who are contesting in Punjab's Lok Sabha elections to be held on May 19th, 2019.
30-year-old Ravinder Pal Singh is a Lok Sabha contender from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, while 55-year-old Jasbir Singh is a contender from the Patiala parliamentary constituency. Though it is true that both of them are winners in their respective professions, it is really the manifestos of these two independent candidates that deserve all the limelight. And trust us, we weren't kidding when we said that their manifestos are “mouth-watering”.
They are mouth-watering metaphorically, because the issues they are fighting for are so on-point, they would make any aware citizen rush to the polling booth, and cast their votes in favour of these two.
In an interview with PTI, Ravinder shared his reasons for contesting elections this year and said, “I decided to contest in order to raise awareness about the serious issue of growing cancer cases because of discharge of industrial effluents and chemicals into the 'Buddha nullah'."
Not just that, Ravinder, who runs a burger joint at Model Town extension in Ludhiana, also wants to improve the state of government schools and hospitals in town. “I also want the condition of government hospitals and schools to be improved so that the common man has access to better education and healthcare facilities at lesser cost," he said.
On the other hand, Jasbir Singh has raised another poignant issue in his personal agenda. He told the news agency that he wants to fight against the "corruption" in the state and raise his voice against the "injustice" meted out to the downtrodden.
"I want to fight against corruption which you will find in every department. The officials just want to extract money from you by hook or by crook.” Having lost the election last time, he hopes to win this season.
Both Ravinder and Jasbir give us hope that genuine politics does exist, and some individuals really do care about the society and wish to make a difference.
