PM campaigns for Sinha in Hazaribagh

Ranchi, represented by lesser known Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, Ram Tahal Chowdhury, is much cleaner and better developed than Hazaribagh though both are part of the proposed Vananchal (Jharkhand) state.

Tuesday’s rally too was held amid light drizzle but the crowd – more responsive than the one at Ranchi – stayed put to hear the Prime Minister speak.

The Prime Minister was all praise for Sinha for tackling the dwindling economy of the country, bringing down the inflation rate despite economic sanctions imposed upon the country in the wake of Pokharan-II nuclear tests.

The crowd cheered at every word Vajpayee uttered, like they did in Ranchi on Monday.

Vajpayee’s well-rehearsed speech was completely bereft of wit and sarcasm, much more businesslike than usual, dwelling on the background of the fall of his Government, the Kargil conflict and of course, creation of Vananchal.

But the loudest applause came when he said, "People of this region are well aware of how to arrange for votes in the Parliament (during the trust vote). Cases are still going on. I too could have arranged for votes. It was not that maal (MPs) were not available. It was also not that they could not be bought. But there was nobody to buy their votes. I said in Parliament before tending my resignation that I might have lost by one vote but I will come back by proving my majority in the Parliament of 100 crore people."

He reminded the people of various projects worth over Rs 25,000 crore sanctioned by his Government for the Vananchal region during his Government’s 13-month rule.

He also did not forget to remind the people of this hill region – inhabited mainly by the poor – that he himself was son of a school teacher and knew what poverty was. "I know what it feels like to spend cold winter nights without proper clothes," the PM said, asserting that the situation had to be changed and only the BJP could bring about such a change.

The Prime Minister criticised the Congress but refrained from naming Sonia Gandhi and did not once refer to her foreign origin or to her inexperience in politics.