Arjun fights rival8217;s popularity

MUMBAI, February 19: The BJP says its fight here is against the man responsible for an election nobody wanted. That's not the only charge ag...

MUMBAI, February 19: The BJP says its fight here is against the man responsible for an election nobody wanted. That8217;s not the only charge against Arjun Singh 8212; the BJP says he was responsible for the riots of 1992 and the dismissal of the then BJP Government in the State. For the Congress leader who has much more at stake than most of his colleagues in this election, Hoshangabad is a tough 8212; and desperate 8212; fight.

His BJP opponent Sartaj Singh, who has represented this constituency in the Lok Sabha since 1989, is a popular figure. He claims he is 8220;easily accessible to the people and ever ready to empathise with them in their trials and tribulations8221;. Ironically, even Arjun Singh has nothing to say against him.

Addressing an election meeting at Khargone village on the northern fringe of the constituency on Tuesday, the former Union minister said that he had nothing to say about Sartaj Singh but he belongs to the party which has inherited its ideology from the RSS. And Godse who killed Gandhi was alsoinfluenced by the RSS ideology.

The Congress8217; campaign is primarily based on two issues: development and their candidate8217;s national stature. The Congress says that if Arjun Singh wins he will bring overall development to the constituency. And the BJP is trying to counter that campaign. Says Dr. S.S. Rajput, a BJP activist at Khargone: 8220;Why didn8217;t he do that development in Satna from where Arjun Singh was elected in 1991 but defeated in 1996? Why didn8217;t he develop Churhat his home town in Sidhi district and his son had to run away to Bhojpur?8221;The constituency has 10.85 lakh voters spread over three districts of Hoshangabad, Narsinghpur and Raisen.

Khargone is in Bareli assembly segment of Raisen district. Bareli is represented in the State Assembly for over two decades by Jaswant Singh, a member of the Digvijay Singh cabinet.Some people say Jaswant Singh, who is heading Arjun Singh8217;s campaign team, has neglected his own constituency, but the Congress hopes that it won8217;t reflect in the elections.8220;Every one will vote for Arjun Singh. He is big leader. See what bade bhaiya Jaswant Singh has done for the area 8212; no roads, no water,8221; says a labourer.In speech after speech, Arjun Singh tries to drive home his proximity to 10 Janpath in a subtle way.

Sonia Gandhi, he says, does not want any post; she is not even contesting; all she is trying is to carry forward the great traditions of Gandhiji, Nehru, Indira and Rajiv. Arjun Singh has perhaps never worked this hard.This time the party is behind him, and Sonia Gandhi has become the talking point but the Congress stalwart is fighting every inch to tackle the popularity of his rival.