Amritsar: Calling himself "Vajpayee's soldier", charismatic cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu promises to make this border constituency a nerve centre of commercial activities and take it on a road to development never witnessed before.

"I want to bring development and progress to this holy city and take up major issues for the revival and advancement of industry and trade in the border area," Sidhu says.

Elections 2004-The Drama unfolds...
Political Parties in India

Expressing his happiness over improving of relations with Pakistan, the Shiromani Akali Dal supported Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate says that the border town stands to benefit most from the thaw in ties between the two neighbours.

"The Prime Minister's peace initiatives with Pakistan are beginning to show results. With people-to-people contact increasing and cricket matches being played between the two nations, trade and commerce will follow.

"Amritsar will become the hub and if borders open up, all the cargo that is directed from Dubai or Mumbai can land here directly," he says.

Known for his oratorical skills, Sidhu says if somebody raises his voice in the right quarters, the scale of development witnessed in Amritsar in five months time will be more than the city had witnessed in the past decade.