Canvassing for Bibi Paramjit Kaur Khalra of his All India Shiromani Akali Dal (AISAD), he compares bete noire Badal with the infamous Massa Rangad, who was beheaded by two Sikh youths in the 18th century for desecrating the Harmandir Sahib in Golden Temple. Among other things, Rangad is said to have ordered dancing of prostitutes there.

Badal's ally Atal Behari Vajpayee, according to Tohra, is one among those who ordered the massacre of innocent Sikhs in 1984. ``See, Badal is sitting in the lap of those who put burning tyres around the necks of Sikhs and then rejoiced at the macabre spectacle,'' he thunders.

The Akali stalwart does not forget to eulogise the assassins of former PM Indira Gandhi,who had ordered Operation Bluestar, either. ``Where is she now?'' he asks. ``The score was settled to uphold the honour of the Panth.''The refrain echoes in meeting after meeting. Addressing a gathering on Wednesday at Chabahal in Khalra's Tarn Taran parliamentary constituency, Tohra compares Rangad's annexation of the Harmandir with the present ``occupation'' of the Akal Takht by ``cronies'' of Badal.

``Yours is the land of sacrifices, starting from the days of Baba Nanak and Baba Budha ji. I bow my head before the brave sangat, in sheer respect,'' he says. And adds: ``It is high time the fate of present-day Massa Rangad was decided. This land has been setting right the manmukhs and Badal is one such manmukh.''

He holds back only on hearing the slogans of ``Bole so nihal'', which rent the sky announcing the arrival of former Akal Takht jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh, the AISAD's star campaigner. Then it is time to begin again, and Tohra talks of how former CM Surjit Singh Barnala had allowed police into theGolden Temple and how Badal had now ``attacked'' the Akal Takht by removing the ``widely acceptable'' Bhai Ranjit as jathedar.

It is towards the end of the speech that candidate Khalra finally finds a mention, Tohra referring to the sacrifice of her husband, Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human rights activist who was allegedly picked up by the police and killed. His wife is now pitted against Gurinder Singh Kairon of the Congress and Tarlochan Singh Tur of the Akali Dal (Badal).

As Bhai Ranjit gets up to speak, Tohra is off. In his air-conditioned car, followed by a police gypsy, to Patti and Bhikhiwind for more speeches.The former SGPC chief starts on the same fiery note at the next meeting, making cosmetic changes. Here, the target is former Punjab CM Partap Singh Kairon, who hails from Patti. Kairon, Tohra says, is a cruel Congressman as is his son, Gurinder.

In the unending tirade, social issues, of course, are swept under the carpet. In this meeting, Tohra repeats: ``In the 393 years of the history ofthe Akal Takht, no one dared question the wisdom and decisions of its jathedar. But look at Badal and his coterie, who violated the traditions and values of the highest institutions of Sikhs for personal gains.''

He goes on to exhort the people to fight the ``corrupt and inefficient'' government of Badal. He cites cases like the transfer of the Faridkot SSP and other officers and claims he got them shunted out as they were interfering in the election process. With campaign fever catching, Badal can expect more such Tohra talk.