BATHINDA: The split in Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit has also separated two young and vociferous woman campaigners of the political outfit — Navjot Kaur Lambi and Narinder Kaur Bharaj.Over the past two elections in the state since 2014, Navjot and Narinder, with their ability to attract large crowds, had become two of the most prominent campaigners for AAP. When Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira left the party to form Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) last year, Navjot too left AAP with him. Narinder is still busy seeking support for the party’s Sangrur MP, Bhagwant Mann.Hailing from remote villages in Malwa region, the duo had made waves with their ability to pull the crowds and keep them hooked to their speeches in the 2014 and 2017 elections. Navjot and Narinder had picked up drug addiction and unemployment as issues in their speeches.Narinder describes Navjot’s departure form AAP as “painful”. “But every person has his or her ideology,” she says.Narinder, now 24, was a teenager when she was came into limelight in the 2014 parliamentary elections. At the time, she had manned a polling booth for Bhagwant Mann in her village, Bharaj, in Sangrur. She took the step as party workers had shown inability to manage the booth.Now aged 20, Navjot gained popularity when she shared the stage with AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal at a party rally in former CM Parkash Singh Badal’s stronghold, Kolianwali village in Lambi constituency, in the run-up to the 2017 assembly elections.Narinder is studying law at a private law college in Sangrur, after completing graduation in sociology from Punjabi University, Patiala. Navjot is in the second year of her graduation in humanities. Both take time out of their studies to campaign. Their schedules are going to be hectic for the next two months. “When I was pursuing graduation, I felt drug addiction was increasing among youth because of lack of employment. When I would be travelling to Patiala, I would, at times, face vulgar remarks from drug-addicted youths. So, when AAP volunteers said they won’t be able to manage a polling booth for Bhagwant Mann, I decided to challenge this male dominance,” she says.These days, Narinder goes to a tuition class to study law in the morning and then gets down to campaigning for Mann in six assembly constituency of Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. “Drug addiction was so rampant that I had to face it at home as my farmer, father Gurnam Singh, was addicted to poppy. I made him shun drugs and now am working to make youth shun them too,” says Narinder.For Navjot, the area of campaigning is bigger. She says she would be campaigning in Khadoor Sahib, Faridkot and Bathinda parliamentary seats from March 25. When asked why she left AAP, Navjot says it was because she felt AAP had left its ideology behind. “I was inspired by its high ideals and that was why I campaigned for it in 2017. When I felt it had changed, I left AAP with Khaira,” she says.

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