Call it another example of dynastic succession if you will but Louise Salman Khursheed, wife of UPCC president Salman Khursheed, is this time making a bid to reclaim Farrukhabad, which her husband has been unable to win after 1991. Louis, a former journalist and a social worker, has worked for her husband as a campaign manager.Salman's father, Khursheed Alam Khan, won from here in 1984 but Salman lost in 1989. After staging a comeback in 1991, he slipped to the third place in 1996 and 1998. This time he is canvassing for his wife. During her campaign in this sprawling constituency of nearly 13 lakh voters, Louise lays emphasis on the participation of women in polling which she believes could be her scoring point over her rivals.``Do not bother whether food has been cooked in your family or not on the polling day but make sure that you and each adult member of your family exercises his or her vote. Remember, your vote should go to a woman who understands your problems,'' she tells the people.Donningan off-white jacket over a white salwar kurta with an embroidered tricolour duppata, the Congress candidate in this BJP bastion is traversing through the bumpy and muddy terrain of this backward constituency in a Tata Sumo followed by two other cars. She has been following a gruelling routine ever since she filed her nominations on August 27.``I wish there were 48 hours in a day so that I could visit each village in this constituency which has been neglected during the tenures of BJP MPs. A hospital and a few other facilities had been provided by Salman during his stint as MP and my father-in-law,'' she told The Indian Express during a meeting in Pilakhana village, a Samajwadi Party (SP) stronghold. Actually, it's Salman who has earned the ire of the locals for neglecting the area despite the fact that he was a Union minister.She calculates her chances like a seasoned journalist filing a poll report. ``The BJP candidate is facing rebellion from his rank and file and also from the two-time MPSakshi Maharaj while the SP's vote-bank of Muslims is drifting towards the Congress. The BSP has its own vote-bank of Dalits but is not in a winning position,'' she explains.``I am in a straight contest with the BJP candidate,'' she says. The party had grabbed the seat in the previous two elections. BJP nominee Ram Baux Verma, a Lodh by caste, is now facing the ire of Sakshi Maharaj, who is also a Lodh. Verma's cavalcade of cars was recently attacked by supporters of the Swamy who has vowed to seal the fate of the BJP nominee because he was denied a ticket this time.She is no stranger, she protests. ``I am no neta but a samaj sewak who has been doing service for you for 16 years. I am your beti and bahu. I hope that this time you will vote for humanity and not for caste or other considerations. There was a strange wave in the '96 and '98 polls but this time people want stability,'' she tells villagers, asking them to raise their hands if they want Congress rule. All handsshoot up, but whether they will stamp on the hand remains to be seen.Louise announces: ``I am here and can assure you that the constituency will be transformed but for this you will have to elect a Congress government.'' At Achara village where she talks to the women and seeks the support of elders, the response is good. She expects it to continue, particularly with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi ``likely to address an election meeting here on September 12 or 13,'' she says.Her rivals accept that she will pose a major challenge at the hustings. ``She cannot be dismissed as a stranger and will pose a major challenge,'' said a local BJP leader.
