CHANDIGARH: As chief of internal security and counter intelligence in 2008, Brig Raj Kumar was the first person to question Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist who was caught in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.Now, with folded hands and the plea to try a new political party that promises a crackdown on corruption , Kumar is campaigning for Aam Aadmi Party in Balachaur, about 56 kilometres from Chandigarh, as the party’s candidate for the Punjab assembly elections.“I questioned him for 7-8 hours. He was a youngster, a petty thief from a village near Lahore who wanted to make it big. He told me how he and his friend went to buy weapons and were inducted into a terrorist group. From the time we met him, he kept asking to be killed for what he had done,” said Kumar, as his entourage zipped from one village to the other during Thursday’s downpour.Kumar, who retired from army in 2015, is contesting on the anti-corruption plank. In his speeches across villages, he is invoking the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement and how AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal was the only person who had been able to stand up to “dynastic and tyrannical politics”. However, this will not be an easy fight for him.Balachaur, a Gujjar-dominated assembly segment, with an electorate of about 1.47 lakh spread over 199 villages and three towns, is sharply divided over its choice of political party. The one unified sentiment that seems to have emerged is that people want “change” this time. Sitting MLA Chowdhary Nand Lal of Shrimonai Akali Dal, a four-time MLA, is a Gujjar and so are the AAP and Congress candidates.In Majra Jatta, Mahinder Singh, a local, says AAP and Congress are almost neck to neck, giving Congress a slight edge over the ‘jhaadu’ party. “Captain is better than (Parkash Singh) Badal. Kejriwal is new. People will vote for change this time. The main issues for our village are drugs and development. Akalis will also lose out due to demonetization,” he said.While Kumar was addressing a dedicated group of about 30 at Mehatpur Oladni, Dimple Kumar, the owner of a Western Union money transfer branch, talks about how he was forced to open his office despite it being a public holiday and the rain. “Demonetisation has cut into business tremendously. This time not even Modi can bail out the Akalis since the sentiment against BJP is very strong. I sense that Congress will get 80% of the non-Akali votes here,” he said.A few meters down the road from his shop, Kamaljeet Singh and Gurdeep Singh, two shopkeepers, were mulling over the election campaign over a steaming cup of tea. “Akali is not coming back this time. That is certain. Some of their vote will go to Congress but AAP is the clear winner from here,” said Gurdeep.