Curtains come down on poll campaign

Rahul Gandhi addressed nearly 150 public meetings besides roadshows,leading the Congress campaign from the front. Never before had a scion of Nehru-Gandhi family campaigned in a state election like this. He also stirred a controversy when he equated UP people migrating to other states for jobs with beggars. His act of tearing a paper,symbolising the Samajwadi Party manifesto,also attracted a sharp reaction from rival parties. While Rahul toured the state,Priyanka Gandhi held the fort at Rai Bareli and Amethi. Her husband Robert Vadra too was there to led a helping hand,but landed in controversy after his motorcycle rally was stopped by district administration. Adding to it,Vadra also made a statement that he would contest election if people wanted.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi visited UP after winding up the electioneering in Uttarakhand. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also addressed two meetings for the Congress.

The campaigning saw Union ministers Beni Prasad Verma,Salman Khurshid,Sriprakash Jaiswal attracting adverse notice from the Election Commission for their utterances,the first two for promising a quota for Muslims and the third for saying that President’s rule would be imposed if none of the party got a majority.

For the Samajwadi Party,it was Akhilesh Yadav who was the star campaigner. He addressed 201 election meetings. Earlier also,he had toured large parts of the state on his Samajwadi Kranti Rath. SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav addressed 96 meetings and party general secretary Azam Khan accompanied him at some places. Unlike previous elections,SP refrained from inviting any Bollywood stars and relied heavily on the charisma of Akhilesh. The party’s another leader Shivpal Yadav was not so visible this time in the campaign. Unlike Congress leaders,SP leaders generally steered clear of controversies,except once when Mulayam Singh Yadav promised government jobs to rape victims.

The Bharatiya Janata Party began its campaign on the issue of corruption but scored a self-goal by admitting sacked and tainted Bahujan Samaj Party ministers Babu Singh Kushwaha and Badshah Singh. Though the party suspended the membership of Kushwaha,it gave ticket to Badshah Singh. The BJP brought all its senior leaders to the state for campaigning and LK Advani,Arun Jaitley,Sushma Swaraj,Nitin Gadkari extensively toured the state. Hema Malini,Smriti Irani,Shatrughan Sinha,added glamour. However,Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,who was listed as a star campaigner,stayed away.

The BJP brought former MP chief minister Uma Bharti and projected her as the future chief minister of UP,along with former president Rajnath Singh,vice-president Kalraj Mishra and state president Surya pratap Shahi. Many in the state unit did not relish it,but still she was fielded as a candidate from Charkhari in Mahoba. Some BJP candidates in eastern UP,including Shahi,also had to face opposition from Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath.

For the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party,party president and Chief Minister Mayawati was the sole star campaigner. Unlike others,she did not go to individual constituencies. Instead,she addressed 69 meetings at district headquarters. At some of these meetings,people were brought from two districts. Though,the party’s Brahmin face S C Mishra and PWD Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui also campaigned, Mayawati remained the main campaigner of the party.

Interestingly,three of the main contenders for chief minister are not contesting the election. They are Mayawati,who is member of the Legislative Council,and Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav,both being members of the Lok Sabha.