A party called Uma Bharti

Every wall in the narrow lanes of this town is busy with graffiti. They add up to a kaleidoscope of impressions, instead of a clear message.

This is perhaps a reflection of the confusion among voters here who have been called upon to choose between a charismatic former chief minister who was born here, two former ministers and the BSP candidate who was first off the block 8212; he began his campaign eight months ago.

Bharti has already announced that she will retreat to Kedarnath if the BJP comes back to power in Madhya Pradesh, a state she ruled as chief minister for nine months beginning December 2003. She has always had a special place in the hearts of the local people who regard her as a preacher with extraordinary oratorical skills. And yet, irrespective of her party8217;s performance elsewhere in the state, the fact is that the sanyasin is not having it easy in her own constituency.

The crowds that the 49-year-old still draws cannot be compared to the following she had achieved in 2003 when she championed Hindutva, blasted the Congress, and had the vast infrastructure of the BJP to exploit her rhetoric. No one talks of the Bharatiya Janshakti Party that she founded in April 2006 because very few know about it. Workers know only of Uma Bharti. She is the candidate, she is also the party.

Supporters admit they have difficulty convincing people to vote for the 8216;nagada8217;, her party8217;s symbol because voters still associate her with the lotus. 8220;She asked us to vote for the BJP not so long ago and now she is asking us not to vote for it. She did not even visit us after becoming the chief minister,8221; says Rajendra Kumar Jain, who runs a small hotel. 8220;She can8217;t take her victory for granted.8221; Jain is convinced that the BJP has done some development work and views Bharti8217;s accusations of corruption in the state government with scepticism. 8220;Kaam honge to khayenge bhi8221; if development works are done, people will take cuts.

Taking on Bharti in Tikamgarh is the Congress8217;s former minister Yadvendra Singh Bundela alias 8216;Jaggu Bhaiyya8217; and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Akhand Pratap Singh. The latter is in the fray only because the BJP anticipated Bharti8217;s candidature and decided to sacrifice him. Then there is the BSP8217;s Jain candidate, Anil Badkul.

Each one8217;s interpretation of how the Lodhis, Yadavs, Brahmins, Jains and Muslims will vote is different. 8220;Caste is the only campaign issue,8221; says advocate Suresh Shukla. Though it8217;s difficult to predict who will win, what is clear is that the winning margin will be wafer thin, he says.

Such predictions are not good news for Bharti, for whom her personal score card would matter more than the performance of her party. Her party has not won a single seat so far in the state, or outside it, but Bharti8217;s personal appeal, her followers maintain, is still intact.

While Bharti has held eight meetings in her constituency, the BJP has virtually ignored its own minister. Except Smriti Irani, who drew a thin crowd, the BJP has not sent anyone to campaign here. The Congress, too, has left the campaigning to regional leaders.

But the quadrangular fight means Bharti cannot breathe easy anymore, a far cry from the times when she credited herself with bringing the BJP to power in the state. Her brother Swami Lodhi, who last year was accused of looting a Jain family, has now switched loyalty to the BJP.