Lucknow Nama: Direct Line

Uma Bharti poked fun at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for bringing her two children along to the election campaign in Amethi. At a public meeting in Lucknow,BJP president Nitin Gadkari called Congress a “mother-son” party and Samajwadi Party a “father-son” party. At the same programme,the party’s Lucknow MP Lalji Tandon was present with his three sons – Ashutosh,Subodh,Amit – and grandson Vansh (12). Ashutosh is contesting as BJP candidate from Lucknow north and Vansh is his son. Party sources said since Lalji Tandon and Ashutosh have involved themselves fully in politics,Subodh and Amit look after the family business. But in the elections,both campaigned door-to-door,along with Vansh. What does the BJP call this?

Power politics

The Congress worry at this juncture of the UP elections seems to be a hung Assembly. Having criticised SP leaders,and asserted that they are not going to have a post-poll alliance with SP, the biggest challenge for the Congress is going to be to keep away from power if the SP asks for support. A senior party leader said, “It would be good if the SP gets a majority,then we can use the time available until the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to work aggressively and strengthen our base.’’ Otherwise,the Congress may have to support the SP in the name of “secularism”. But a section of Congressmen does not relish the idea of outside support; having been out of power for more than two decades,they are angling for a piece of the political pie.

Slip Season

The slips and falls of Rashtriya Lok Manch’s star campaigners are becoming alarming. On Saturday,its president Amar Singh was rushed to Lucknow’s Sahara Hospital all the way from Mahoba after he slipped while boarding a helicopter. Within a few hours,however,Singh was declared fit to be discharged. Some ten days ago,the party’s star campaigner Jaya Prada had slipped while climbing the dais in Kushinagar,though she did not have to be rushed to hospital. Last year,Jaya Prada had injured her arm during the Purvanchal Swabhiman rally. Party leaders hope and pray that their two crowd pullers will remain unhurt in the election season.

Turnout tussle

The Election Commission and UP’s Chief Electoral Officer seem to be competing against each other to take the credit for the increased voter turn-out. After the first phase of polling on February 8,the CEO held a press conference in Lucknow to announce that the turn-out had been over 60 per cent and that this was the highest-ever. After the end of the second phase of polling on February 11,the CEO and the EC held press conferences in Lucknow and New Delhi. After the third phase on February 15, the EC held a press conference in New Delhi one hour before the CEO in Lucknow. While officials said that the press conference in Lucknow was delayed to collect “more accurate data”,sources said that the EC was keen to make the announcement first and highlight its voter awareness programmes across the country and particularly in UP,which was known for low voter turn-out in the past.

Altered analysis

After four phases of elections,all parties are busy making assessments about who is the beneficiary of the heavy polling. But teams of Congressmen are conducting different type of analyses. They are trying to ascertain the impact of tactics,like projecting Rahul Gandhi as an aggressive leader,projecting Beni Prasad Verma as OBC leader,or giving tickets to turncoats. It is also examining why,at many places,the cadres did not respond to motivation by the leadership. Campaign styles and public responses to leaders of other parties,be it Jayant Chaudhary of RLD or Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party,are being analysed. All for future elections,sources said.