HARSEV Bains, was heading back to London. In Delhi, back after a short visit to his ancestral village in Punjab, Bains, the secretary of the Indian Workers’ Association, Great Britain said “drugs” are going to be a major issue in these polls. That was much before the election campaign had actually begun in the state. Even for a casual observer of the political scene in Punjab, like this writer, the development was not surprising. The state had been plagued by this menace for long and it was high time that the issue was addressed. Given the widespread resentment growing against this malaise afflicting large sections of the youth, it became incumbent upon major political parties to talk of the issue. Or rather, they were forced by angry crowds at various places who were demanding to know of the measures proposed to be taken to tackle the menace. No wonder, drug abuse emerged as a dominant narrative in the 2014 electoral battle in Punjab. Adding fuel to the fire were the revelations made by a former DG of Police, Shashi Kant Sharma. The DG’s plain speak had but confirmed what was already known – the existence of a well organised nexus comprising powerful politicians, corrupt bureaucrats and the drug mafia. Sharma also alleged that the elections in the state are fought with the help of drugs and money from drugs. Echoing the same concern Hardial Singh Mann, SSP Patiala, who had unearthed important supply chains of synthetic drugs in the state in the beginning of this year said that investigations had established that the arrested smugglers had funded the 2012 Punjab assembly elections. “Bhola”, Mann said “has confessed to political funding”. Giving a further boost to these allegations were the confessions of a drug lord, currently in jail. The kingpin has named senior cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majitha, brother-in-law of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal as the kingpin. Public perception about the involvement of ruling party politicians has got further strengthened with the police not pursuing these allegations. These revelations have clearly put the Badal government in the dock. The Punjab state committee of the CPI(M) demanded a probe headed by a Supreme Court judge to go into the entire issue of drug trade in the state. The scenario was different during the campaign for the assembly elections two years ago, when this writer visited parts of the state. Though drug abuse was rampant even then, it did not occupy central space in the political discourse, even while the Akali Dal had promised to eradicate the problem. HORRIFIC SPECTACLE What we found even then was shocking. I had written in these columns earlier about the condition of youth and the horrific spectacle that we witnessed in place after place that we visited. Everywhere we went we were greeted by emaciated youth, be it at markets, busy road intersections, bus terminals, on the streets, in the lanes, and where not. The gregarious Punjabi, who is supposed to be tough and fun-loving and full of warmth seemed just a myth. “Seven out of ten boys are addicted to drugs in the rural areas” said Prof. Gyan Singh of the Punjabi University, Patiala, in a voice filled with concern and anguish. On the lawns of the University Guest House, the professor of economics spoke to this writer, on the perils affecting Punjab, besides drugs. Echoing the same disquiet, an affidavit filed by the secretary of the department of social security, Punjab, a few years back, says that sixteen percent of the Punjab population is hooked to hard drugs. The affidavit filed before the Punjab & Haryana High Court reveals that every third male and every tenth female student