Poised to win?

You8217;ve got to give it to Kalu Maliwad. Here is a man who, five years ago...

You8217;ve got to give it to Kalu Maliwad. Here is a man who, five years ago, seemed invincible as he beamed from his campaign posters8212;pictures of him with Modi and in the backdrop, the burning Sabarmati Express. Five years later, Maliwad sees his grip over his constituency, Lunawada in Panchmahals, loosening but the man still has that smile intact.

But his confidence alone won8217;t see him through. As he held court in Dhamod village, around 25 km from Lunawada town, only 20 of the 300 villagers turned up to hear him. Some who listlessly gathered at the venue went back to their fields, complaining he was an hour-and-a-half late. Maliwad8217;s supporters managed to round up a few villagers and took them to the sarpanch8217;s house, explaining that Maliwad had been busy canvassing in the border areas in this tribal area of central Gujarat.

And when he finally arrived, Maliwad began on his pet topics: development, 24-hour power supply, water for irrigation and praise for Narendra Modi. 8220;With Narendrabhai at the helm, farmers will continue to move forward. Look at the Jyoti Gram Yojana or the irrigation schemes.8221;

A few clapped disinterestedly, but when Maliwad praised Modi8217;s Sujalam Sufalam project, a farmer in the front row said, 8220;What work are you talking about8212;that there are no roads, no electricity for irrigation, or that we have no water to be pumped out?8221; Maliwad quickly placated him but showed no signs of embarrassment. 8220;The project has begun and there will be hiccups,8221; he began when someone in the rear cut him off. 8220;What about the fields which were submerged during the canal construction,8221; the villager asked.

But in another village, Maliwad8217;s Congress opponent, Hira Patel, had it easy as he ripped apart Modi8217;s claims of development. A retired professor, Patel8217;s campaign began on a slow note, as Surpalsinh Solanki, who was denied a Congress ticket, rebelled and joined hands with the BSP. However, the Congress managed to placate Solanki, who later withdrew his candidature.

Back in Dhamod, after a hasty request to vote for the kamal BJP symbol, Maliwad and his three-car convoy moved on the next village, Salakpur, a few km from Dhamod. Maliwad is late again. Will the crowd bother to wait for him?