Kargil has not made much of a difference to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's prospects in his constituency of Lucknow where his stature makes such issues somewhat irrelevant. No doubt the victory over Pakistan has enhanced his image but the achievements and failures of his Government are really not the issues here.It is because of this larger-than-life image of the Prime Minister that all the political parties have found trouble in fielding candidates from Lucknow since 1991. His margin of victory here has been in lakhs. This time also the non-BJP parties are yet to finalise the ``sacrificial goats'' to be fielded here.``Atalji is beyond any issue. Kargil or no Kargil, Lucknow awaits him always and will vote in his favour but not guided by any issue,'' says shop-owner Suresh Dalwani at the Janpath market. He says the handling of the Kargil issue has only improved the image of the BJP Government because it has earned laurels on the diplomatic front. ``This is for the first time that a feeling ofnationhood has been aroused and the credit goes to our martyrs and the Vajpayee Government,'' he says.Vajpayee's popularity transcends communal and caste barriers in his pocketborough which he has been representing since 1991. ``There is no other leader at present to match his status and we should feel proud to be voting in his favour. We do not know the BJP or its lotus symbol but identify it with him. Kargil no doubt was a big issue but Atal transcends all that,'' says artist Mohammed Athar Hussain.Lucknow is one of the few constituencies where political leaders don't have to deal with demographic configurations or wait for any wave to persuade voters to exercise their franchise. And this transformation came after Vajpayee decided to contest from here for the first time, after a long gap, in 1991.``He is the only leader in the present age who has the charisma of our legendary politicians like Nehru or Indira, for whom issues never mattered. Their personality dwarfed all issues and opponents,'' saysRajan Tandon, owner of a travel agency.He, however, feels that Kargil should not be made an election issue for it was a matter of defence. ``Neither the BJP nor any other party should try to capitalise on the success or failure of the Vajpayee Government on this issue,'' he stresses.Atal rarely gets time to campaign in his constituency because of being the star campaigner for his party. Each party candidate wants him to address an election meeting at least once in his area. And the people of Lucknow do not resent this. ``We have the satisfaction that our vote elects a PM and not an MP,'' says R.K.Sharma, an executive engineer with the UPSEB.The only time Atal had to face some difficulty in his constituency was when he was challenged by Raj Babbar in 1996 on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Though Atal won, he had to spent much time in campaigning here.Lucknow has benefited from being the constituency of the PM. Roads and civic conditions here are the best in comparison to any other city in the stateand a number of projects for turning it into a model city are under way. No wonder people are not complaining.
