The dilemma of the voter is yet to be resolved but there is gushing admiration for the Prime Minister which the Congress and the All India Shiromani Akali Dal of Gurcharan Singh Tohra are finding it hard to counter. Illiterate villagers, businessmen, teachers, farmers and the youth are unanimous in their admiration for Vajpayee. Enthuses 30-year-old Jaswinder Kaur, principal of the Pal College For Women in Jandiala in Tarn Taran district: ``People think Vajpayee is a patriot. They feel that had the Congress been in power, it would have backed out of the war in Kargil.''

Agrees 35-year-old businessman Kanwaljeet Singh: ``Even those who lost their sons in Kargilare pro-Vajpayee. Adds Kaur, ``If Vajpayee loses, it will be because of the BJP's tie-up with the Akalis.''

Even in the fundamentalist stronghold of Panjwar village, Sikhs talk about Vajpayee in reverential tones. ``Vajpayee took a tough stance on Kargil and taught Pakistan a lesson. He is a great leader,'' says an old man.

This is the refrain in the neighbouring district of Gurdaspur too. Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder of the Congress is pitted against Vinod Khanna of the BJP here, but Khanna may as well not have existed. He is seeking votes in Vajpayee's name. A shopkeeper in Gurdaspur town observes: ``If people vote for the BJP, it will be for Vajpayee and not for Vinod Khanna.'' Adds a chemist in Pathankot grudgingly: ``For Vajpayee personally there is a lot of admiration but his workers are not good.''

Vajpayee's popularity is not gender-based. In Dasuya town of Hoshiarpur district, which has a large number of women voters, our PM could find himself blushing. Exclaims 21-year-old Balvinder: ``Vajpayeeshould be PM again for the manner in which he opposed Pakistan.'' Badal is hated for the rising prices and a sharp increase in electricity tariff but no blame can stick on Vajpayee. ``Vajpayee is great. How can he control the rising prices? It will take him time to do so,'' says a computer teacher of Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College For Women. It's the same story in the villages and towns of Patiala and Ropar districts. Says a farmer in Ganda Khedi village: ``The BJP as a party is anti-poor, but Vajpayee has done nothing but good. ``Adds a 21-year-old youth in Muradpur: ``Vajpayee was fearless. He has raised the image and honour of the country.''

What also counts with the people of the state is Vajpayee's clean image, the fact that ``his Government has not been involved in any scam''. Government employees across the state are virulent in their hatred for Badal because of his financial mismanagement. In Patiala district they complain they have not been paid salaries for the past five months. But as a driverin Bahadurgarh says: ``Badal is a thug, we will vote for Vajpayee.''

Voters throughout the state emphasise that they want a ``stable government which would last for five years''. In Ropar district people spew venom at Jayalalitha for toppling Vajpayee's Government. ``He should be given more time, he is honest and good,'' says a farmer in Singh village.

The warring Akalis have discredited themselves and the Congress is handicapped by the absence of a charismatic leader. Sonia Gandhi has not made any inroads. As an old villager in Tarn Taran says contemptuously, ``She has recently learnt to speak Hindi. What does she understand about us?''

Had the Akali Dal fought the elections on it own, it would have been routed. Voters say they will have to strike a careful balance between their choice of a good candidate and a good PM. Given their confusion, it is not clear whether the admiration for Vajpayee will actually translate into votes. But the Vajpayee factor is here to stay.