Against popular belief, Rode insists he is a staunch democrat and despises armed struggle. ``I want to devote my life to eradication of corruption and indiscipline in the country,'' he declares while addressing a gathering at Sandhwan, native village of Late Giani Zail Singh.

Though he does not refer to his brother at all in his speeches, he proudly owns up his legacy when questioned. To him the then government had conspired with the intelligence agencies to declare Bhindranwale a terrorist, which he wasn't. In fact, he was a saint who believed in democracy and was opposed to the killings of innocents, says Rode. According to him, if at all Bhindranwale justified theuse of arms, it was against the Nirankaris who had killed 13 Sikhs on the Baisakhi day.

As a candidate of the third front, comprising Akali Dal (Panthic), Akali Dal (Democratic), Akali Dal (Amritsar), Akali Dal (Tohra) and the Bahujan Samaj Party, Rode ensures he hits hard enough at the Badal camp. More than the Congress, his verbal missiles are aimed at the ``corrupt, inefficient and callous Badal sarkar''. Badal, he thunders is not a Sikh for a Sikh would never disobey the Akal Takht.

After defeating Badal at the hustings, it is the aim of the third front to democratically reinstate Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of Akal Takht. The Badal loyalists in the executive of the SGPC, who were in a majority, had removed the Jathedar.

Unlike the Badal family which is campaigning for Sukhbir, the womenfolk in the Rode household stay away. Wife Daljit Kaur and daughter stay at home while widowed sisters-in-law Dalip Kaur and Gurdev Kaur put their faith in the almighty. ``We believe in the will of God. If he wantsit to happen, Captain sahib will win,'' they say.

The native village of Bhindranwale is sharply divided on that. Kartar Singh, an ex-Serviceman, feels the Badal camp has grown stronger in Rode as an estimated 65 per cent of the residents favour moderate politics and not extremism. The Congress will be able to get at least 20 per cent of the votes in the village and the remaining 15 per cent will go to the third front, he says.

Jalaur Singh, president of the village cooperative society, too feels that of late Badal has gained ground in Rode. In 1984 when Sikhs were massacred in the country, the entire population subscribed to the ideology of Bhindranwale. But when the armed groups turned into thugs, the people turned against them. That's how peace returned, explains Jalaur. And a youth in his early 20s nods in agreement.

Sarpanch Jagdeep Singh is learnt to be openly campaigning for the Congress. That's a sure indication of how things have changed.