Jhadu has brought him name and fame, says AAP MLA Labh Singh Ugoke's mother

A narrow lane in Ugoke village Barnala district of Punjab leads to the tworoom house of 35yearold Labh Singh Ugoke where celebrations are in full swing After all the tenderfoot from Aam Aadmi Party AAP has defeated the sitting Chief Minister of Punjab Charanjit Singh Channi from Bhadaur constituency by a huge margin of over 37000 votesUgoke joined AAP in 2013 as a volunteer Before this he ran a mobile repair shop in his village ldquoHe wanted to join the Indian Army or Punjab Police but he could not get through In 2010 he got married and two years later he opened a mobile repair shop But a year later he shut it and joined AAP as a volunteerrdquo said his father Darshan Singh 66 a farmer who also drives a tractor to earn his livelihoodWhen this writer reached Ugoke village to meet the family of the newlyelected MLA the whole neighbourhood had gathered at the patio of his modest home where the walls stand unplastered Everyone was offered tea which was being prepared on the chulha placed in one corner ldquoSat Sri Akaal jihelliprdquo people greeted us Ugokersquos mother Baldev Kaur 60 couldnrsquot contain her happiness ldquoWe are thankful to everyone who has helped my son make Channi face an embarrassing defeatrdquo Kaur told midday in PunjabiLabh Singh Ugokersquos wife Veerpal Kaur with their children Abhijyot Singh L and Armaan Jyot Singh PicDiwakar SharmaBaldev is a private sweeper in a governmentrun school in the village ldquoI have been working here for decades All the children including Labh have studied in the same school where I am still a sweeper but I take pride in saying that my son has chosen to join a party whose symbol is lsquojhaadursquo which I have used throughout my life to earn a livelihood Now the same jhaadu has helped my son make a name for himselfrdquo said the proud motherWhen asked how the schoolrsquos staff and neighbours are reacting to her sonrsquos thumping victory Baldev said that they have been asking her to tell her son to improve the infrastructure of government schools and make them equivalent to those in Delhi where party founder Arvind Kejriwal has made them a role model ldquoThe demands have started pouring in from the neighbours There is no hospital in our village people have to travel about 15 to 20 km to reach the nearby government hospital which is also in a dilapidated state Everything needs to be changedhellip my son will have to work a lotrdquo added BaldevUgokersquos father is equally proud to see his sonrsquos posters plastered everywhere in the village ldquoWe knew that he would win the whole village had vowed to help him register the victoryrdquo said Darshan adding that his son has never lost a battle ldquoMy son never failed in school This was the first time that he contested elections and he won it too The whole constituency is celebratingrdquoUgokersquos wife Veerpal Kaur who works as a tailor is busy in the kitchen tending to guests Her phone hasnrsquot stopped ringing since the day of Ugokersquos victory ldquoMy relatives are calling to congratulate merdquo said Veerpal who has sons Armaan Jyot Singh 7 and Abhijyot Singh 10 ldquoAfter he filed the nomination we were not sure if he would win or not But as the polling date neared we started feeling positivemdashthe whole constituency stood up to support my husbandrdquo said Veerpal who belongs to Himmatpur village in Moga district which is hardly 25 km from Ugoke villageHumble beginningsUgoke comes from a family where everyone works to make ends meet After sweeping the entire premises of the school his mother Baldev joins her husband in the fields to bring home fodder for their two buffaloes Before contesting elections it was Ugoke who would do this job and carry it home on his bicycleIn the evening this reporter met Darshan and his wife Baldev in the fields ldquoWe have a very small piece of landrdquo said Singh When asked if they would continue to work in the fields Singh said he is not going to give up on his work ldquoMy annual income is R44000 and my wife makes R24000 We both will continue to work the way we have so farrdquo His wife said that the victory would not change her status at school ldquoThey will still call me lsquojhaaduwalirsquo and this is my identity which I am going to retain Besides this jhaadu has earned my son name and famerdquoLong road aheadBack at home Ugokersquos cousin Gurusevak Singh tells us how the whole village had gone to the Gurudwara to thank the almighty and pray for his continued success ldquoHe is a very ambitious but humble person and helps people in needrdquo said Gurusevak adding ldquoAfter he won the election the villagers started calling him lsquoMLA sahibrsquo but he said that he is still their lsquobachcharsquordquoCommenting on his cousinrsquos competitor Gurusevak said ldquoIn a bid to woo voters Channi played cards with the villagers and played cricket with the youth but none worked out for him Although he is a rich man and against him my cousin had no resources to campaign in the 74 villages that make up his constituency he won because people wanted a changerdquoldquoA lot of work needs to be done to develop Punjab which is in a bad shape The previous governments have done nothing But now under the leadership of our leader Bhagwant Mann the crimes and corruption will come to an endrdquo Ugoke told midday adding that he has a lot of work to do in his constituency as well ldquoThe villagers need a better education system We will also work towards providing better health facilities at the village levelrdquo