Navjot Singh Sidhu, former cricketer and former member of parliament who is contesting for Amritsar Lok Sabha by-elections, got a shot in the arm with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressing a mammoth rally for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and asking the electorate to caste their votes in favour of Sidhu.

The cricketer in him came to the fore to take the challenge as it was pouring cats and dogs in Amritsar and the Gol Maiden would look deserted if there was a crowd of any less than 20,000. Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi had cancelled her tour to Amritsar due to bad weather.

"You would not believe that when I went to the stage around noon there were barely 25 persons in the pandal. Arun Jaitley asked me to show my guts and take the mike. Once I took the mike there was no going back. We hired 3000 umbrellas and distributed them amongst the people who had, by then started thronging the place. It is a different thing that some of them did not return the umbrellas. By the time Vajpayeeji took the stage at around 1.10 pm there were 20,000 persons in the ground," Sidhu told rediff.com on phone from Amritsar.

He recalled that there were not even two thousand persons in the prime minister's rally last week. Vajpayee told the crowd that if they could come to listen to him in rain the sign is good for the Akali Dal and BJP combine.

"The prices are rising and the people are fed up," he said as the crowd roared. I have never seen Vajpayeeji so happy. We are sure to win," Sidhu declared.

But Tom Waddakan, media in charge of congress party, refuses to believe that Punjab is slipping out of the Congress' hands. "I do not know what the ground realities you are referring to are. Yes, we have some anti-incumbency factor to counter but we are doing well. We would retain power by perhaps a couple of seats lesser than the last time. The Congress party does not believe in poll prediction. Let us wait for the results," Tom told rediff.com at the congress headquarters in New Delhi.

Vajpayee in his address accused Congress of raking up "a bogey of terrorism" ahead of Punjab assembly elections with an eye on votes.

The patriarch, addressing his first election rally in Punjab, also found fault with the government on a variety of issues including the sharp increase in prices of essential commodities to farmer suicides to development in the state.

"Terrorism is in Kashmir, in Assam, but why are they (Congress) trying to raise a bogey of terrorism in Amritsar. Talking about terrorism during election time is only with an eye over votes," he said during his nearly 15-minute speech.

Losing no opportunity to attack the government on the price rise, the former prime minister said, "India is on the path of progress, but sky-rocketing prices of essential had broken the back of the common man."

Earlier this week in their elections speeches, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked the people not to allow terrorism to rear its head again in the state.

Vehemently arguing for the BJP-SAD combine to capture power, Vajpayee asked people to ponder over the situation which the state on Saturday found itself in.

"You vote for us and we will change Punjab's and the country's picture and destiny," he said.

Indicating towards inclement weather, which prevailed in many parts of Punjab, Vajpayee looking at the sun emerge out of dark clouds in Amritsar, said, "Mausam badal rahe hain, Punjab ka mausam bhi badlega (the weather is changing, Punjab's weather will also change).

"What is the condition of Punjab today? I am pained to learn about the farmers committing suicides," Vajpayee said.

Vajpayee alleged that while some states, where farmers had committed suicides got central help, Punjab never got any such helping hand as "...the number of suicides by farmers in the state is far less."

"Should we wait for more farmers to commit suicide before helping them," he asked.

Amritsar is witnessing bypolls of Lok Sabha, in which BJP's star leader Navjot Singh Sidhu is taking on Congress' Surinder Singla.

Asking people to vote out the Congress, he said, "Punjab will see a change and when our alliance comes to power, we will bring a check to the rising prices."

Targeting the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Government, Vajpayee said, "I was reading in a newspaper that there is a village Masoi, which is just 10 km away from (state capital) Chandigarh and does not even have roads, electricity, water connections and lacks in other basic facilities".

"One can imagine if this is the condition of a village near Chandigarh, I am sure there will be many more villages which must be totally neglected. I have also come to know that there are schools where students study under a tree because their schools have no roof and there are hospitals without doctors or nurses," he said.

Launching an indirect attack on the mega projects initiated by the Congress regime in Punjab, he said erecting high-rise buildings alone does not mean development. He said if development comes at a cost of displacing poor people, then it is not worth it.

Lauding the work which was undertaken when SAD-BJP was in power and BJP-led NDA ruled at the Centre, Vajpayee said all the partners involved were working together to take the country and Punjab forward and asked the voters of the state to give them one more chance to carry on the good work.

(With PTI Inputs)