To keep poll expenses minimal, the candidates preferred small street-corner meetings or group meetings instead of organising big political rallies or election meetings. The campaign was lacklustre with hardly any hoarding, party flags or banners. In the final run-up to the Sunday polls, all the three candidates addressed a string of meetings in various parts of constituency.

But certain campaigners enlivened the dull canvassing. The billionaire brother of SAD(B) candidate Darshan Singh Rakhra, who owns a string of petrol pumps in US and a group of supporters from the US campaigned for Rakhra all these days. In the Congress camp, all the dissidents, who had earlier formed a pressure group patched up with the PPCC chief, Capt Amarinder Singh, and actively participated in the election campaign. Creating history of sorts, former Akal Takht chief Bhai Ranjit Singh actively campaigned for AISAD candidate Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra.

All the liquor outlets in the nine segments closed from 5 pm this evening for three days, on the orders of District Magistrate Jasbir Singh Bir.

This time no major election issue emerged or caught the fancy of the electorate. Kargil, Sonia vs Vajpayee factor or Sonia Gandhi's foreign nationality were all relegated to the background, with candidates focussing on the achievements or the non-performance of the Badal government. The Congress poll managers raised the issue of providing a strong and stable government.

Meanwhile, Jasbir Singh Bir, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer, Patiala parliamentary constituency, has banned the free use of vehicles by the candidates during polling. And said that every candidate will only use two vehicles during this period and each vehicle has to paste a pass signed by Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officer on the front windscreen during the period, and any other vehicle will be impounded by the concerned officials.

Bir said that 4,542 police personnel and other officers will be deployed at sensitive polling stations to maintain peace. And 72 special security mobile parties have been formed, which will go around the area.