)
The clash of titans in this holy city between a battle-scarred veteran fighting for his political survival and a high-profile leader going through a baptism by fire is all set to go to the wire in the April 30 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.
Cynosure of all eyes, Amritsar is witness to an extra- ordinary battle of ballot in which 72-year-old Capt Amarinder Singh of the Congress is taking on BJP's Arun Jaitley, 11 years younger to him.
For Jaitley, who is fighting his maiden direct election and is tipped for a bigger role in Delhi if his party is voted to power, may not have anticipated a tough contest that Amritsar has turned out to be against the backdrop of anti- incumbency due to seven years SAD-BJP government's rule and the "performance" of outgoing MP Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Even the Congress which is facing a major anti-incumbency nation-wide must be elated about reports that its position was not all that bad in Punjab where the fielding of the former Chief Minister here and several other top leaders elsewhere has turned out to be a shot in its arm.
However, it is not just a high-stakes game for Jaitley and Singh but a prestige fight for Punjab's ruling Badal family on whose electoral management skills the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha chose this constituency for his election debut.
The ruling SAD has thrown its entire weight behind Jaitley with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal personally evincing interest in his poll campaign.
He even predicted that Jaitley would be deputy Prime Minister in the Narendra Modi government, much to the embarrassment of the BJP leader who shrugged off the comments saying it reflected Badal's affection for him.
