As voters gear up to cast their ballots in Punjab tomorrow, the problem of drug abuse has emerged as a major electoral issue in the northern Indian state - where thousands of young men are estimated to be addicted to various types of drugs.

The Aam Aadmi Party - which is contesting in the state assembly elections for the first time - has promised to bring specialist doctors from abroad and set up a special task force to break the supply and sale of drugs.

Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress has promised to wage a war on drugs, fast-tracking the prosecution of drug cases and introducing legislation to allow the property of drug dealers to be seized.

Even the Punjab government's ruling alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal - which over its 10-year rule has faced criticism of doing little and even fuelling the problem - has promised more drug rehabilitation centres to help victims.

Voters said the problem has only continued to worsen in the state.

"The drug mafia is very active. They target people who haven't started taking drugs," said Mr Mukhtiar Singh Patti, a resident of Patti in Taran Tarn district.

He has been waging a one-man campaign against drugs since his 27-year-old son Manjit died of an overdose nearly a year ago.

His son, he said, got addicted to heroin, which was freely available in the area.

"All political parties are promising to stop the drug menace. But there is a long distance between words and action. Let us see what happens when they come to power."

Punjab, known as the drug capital of India, remains a transit point for drugs that come in through Pakistan heading for Afghanistan.

According to a study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, most drug-dependant people use heroin, opium and over-the-counter drugs, with 76 per cent of addicts aged between 18 and 35. There are different estimates of the number of addicts in the state, ranging from 200,000 to four million in a population of 28 million. But Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi claims that over 70 per cent of Punjab youth are drug addicts.

The northern state has been struggling with low output from farmers facing a water shortage and high cultivation costs, as well as declining industries.

"Drugs have also become a big problem because of unemployment among the youth," said Punjab-based businessman Sandeep Khatra. "The focus needs to be on tackling the problem of unemployment and creating jobs," he said, adding that he would vote for change.

Ironically, even as political parties promise to tackle the drug problem, some candidates are believed to be exchanging drugs for votes.

Candidates in Indian elections have been known to use inducements such as money and alcohol to buy votes. The Election Commission reportedly seized 2,632kg of drugs in Punjab between Jan 5 and Jan 28.

Said Panjab University political analyst Ashutosh Kumar: "Synthetic drugs have come in a big way in the last five years. These don't come from Pakistan, these are produced here.

"The drug trade in Punjab has become an institutionalised trade with the involvement of the authorities. People are very angry in Punjab. An entire generation of youth has been affected," Professor Ashutosh added.