Old hands hit it off in elections with nothing but `human touch’

A modest Gupta says that this was his last election. He explains: “I am getting old; the normal ailments are catching up. I only contested this election since the party prevailed upon me. Next time round, I will resist the pressure.” This is one MP who has decided to be responsive to his constituents’ complaints. He saysbluntly, “Some people from Midnapore are sore with me because I do not spend enough time there.”

He attributes his electoral durability to “simply a case of political alignments”. The veteran 80-plus parliamentarian has won four times from the South-West seat in Calcutta, twice from Bashirhat and four times from Midnapore.

In contrast, the young Turk of the Congress, Kamal Nath, feels that in Chindwara, it is only Kamal Nath and no Congress. Cocksure about his popularity, he feels that the factor that makes all the difference is that he attends to issues in Chindwara that are far beyond the purview of a normal MP. This eager beaver says, “I even do the work which is normally carried out by a sarpanch or MLAs.” According to Kamal Nath, this is a new demanding constituent which will not spare its MP if its local needs are not addressed.

“In Chindwara, I can handle all their needs since all the eight MLA’s are handpicked by me. Some of them are people nobody has heard of, but it does not mattersince the voters are confident about me,” he claims.

Kamal Nath also says that over the years he has managed to build up a strong rapport with the Chindwara voters. “Not only do I know them by name, I also know what is actually going on in their lives,” he says.

A more modest Scindia, who recently shifted his constituency from Gwalior to Guna and won by a record margin, says, “People from Madhya Pradesh know they can walk in to my house. Time is always given and no one is ever turned away.” He, however, is candid enough to say that this carte blanche does not apply to midnight callers.

Scindia feels that even more important than public contact is the fact that at least his voters are convinced about his intentions. “If a politician is perceived to be transparent, then even if all the needs of his constituency are not fulfilled he will still do well,” he maintains.

Scindia says that off late he has been countering a growing Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) influence in his constituency, but maintainsthat sincerity pays every time. He claims to never take his voter for granted.

A gung-ho Pilot says that he cannot actually pinpoint the factor leading to his success, but claims that in this day of demanding voters who expect performance, it is a grueling task. “The difficulty is when the state government is not yours,” he says. Then he adds, “Of course, it is far worse when the state government is yours and is not doing a good job.” He, like the others, believes in keeping his fingers crossed.