Old habits die hard but some political turncoats in Punjab have realised elections are not the best of times to give in to habitual peccadilloes.
These party hoppers have a tough time controlling their lips, which are used to garnering votes in favour of the party they have long been associated with, at election rallies.
So voters did have a fair share of amusement when former Congress leader and current SAD contender Gurcharan Singh Galib said at a rally in Ludhiana: "Bhayo panjay te mohar laayo (Brothers, put your stamp on the 'hand')." Galib, who is up against Congress spokesman Manish Tewari, didn't realise that he was actually seeking votes for the secular party and not for the SAD.
Not just this, at a meeting Galib referred to Youth Akali Dal President Kiranbir Singh Kang as the president of the youth Congress.
Seventy seven-year-old Galib joined the SAD, severing a five-decade-old tie with the Congress after he was denied ticket from Ludhiana.
Political observers said some of the turncoats, after having served in a party for years, fail to forget the slogans they used to chant before joining the new party and thereby denting their own credibility to some extent.
However, such habitual compulsion has not stopped many to switch loyalty even though some of them admit to having tough times adjusting with new parties.