Barbs become sharper, promises more alluring as electioneering gathers momentum

Barbs become sharper, promises more alluring as electioneering gathers momentum. L. K. AdvaniBhilwaraDay: January 27It was never going to be easy. Five thousand rest less Rajputs and no tren chant issue with which to mesmerise them. In Mewar, land of his tory's many hues, this was going to be a colourless election meeting. Anyhow, Advani arrived at 5.05 p.m. - amid cheers in absentia for Atal Bihari Vajpayee - and was promptly crowned with a bright red turban.In the minutes before Advani climbed on to the stage, Umesh Singh Rathore - a local farmer of 70 and, never mind the ageing eyes and white beard, as ramrod straight a Rajput as can be - had been at the microphone. A fiery speaker, was Rathore. You didn't need to understand his Rajasthani di alect to glean his message.This was the land of warrior king Pratap, of baniya Brahma Shah and of Bhil tribals - of the military coalition which had fought Akbar. This election too called for unity The stage was set, almost literally for oration. That, however, is not Advani's style. The BJP president doesn't sermonise, he interrogates; and in the absence of an adversary, Advani interrogates himself. This was what he did at Bhilwara, building the edifice of an ar gument only to demolish it, then repeating the exercise. It is easy to see why Advani is a debating society's dream.Is this the stuff of popular communication though? One was left unsure. Advani joked about I.K. Gujral's identity crisis: "Even he doesn't know whether he belongs to Sharad Yadav's Janata Dal, Laloo's Janata Dal or Badal's Akali Dal." It's a clever line but the response was tepid. Next came the remembrance of hard times. Advani talked of an Australian journalist visiting him in 1989, being impressed by the BJP's clarity - and being dumbfounded that it had only two members in the Lok Sabha.It was a story which unfolded gradually, an anachronism in the age of the crisp anecdote. Yet, it was so typical of Advani - of speeches replete with references and cross-references. Not everybody had the patience to follow his every word, to keep abreast with every nuance. Some began to leave even before Advani had finished. Advani could not have been entirely satisfied. Tomorrow would be another day.It was. A big crowd is a politician's aphrodisiac. The one in Sikar, bastion of Rajasthan's Jat country, was five times as large as that in Bhilwara, perhaps six. There was precision from moment one. The party had decided Advani wouldn't attack Sonia Gandhi personally. Fine, he would attack Sonia's base - her family and its legacy. He would speak of the Emergency. He would proclaim the Congress' "record of shunyas" set in the 1977 election, unsurpassable: in state after north Indian state, the party had won nothing. Yet, had not Nagaur, Sikar's neighbour, given the Congress its lone seat in Rajasthan. That single was not a score, it was a "no ball" in cricketing analogy; and the final twist of the knife - had not Nagaur voted for the BJP in the 1997 by-election?More than listen to, Advani had to be watched in Sikar. The semiotics have changed over the years. From a relatively stiff presence, limited to an instinctive wringing of the hands, Advani's body language is now far more expressive. "Imaandari wohi la sakti hai, jo imandaar ho," he thunders, weaving manifesto with epigram. You hardly hear him. You only watch. Those hands, those fingers, those eyes, that piercing gaze. The interrogator is at work.- Ashok Malik.preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Sitaram KesriRohtakDay: January 28Families of long and ancient lineage usually have a bunch of loyal family retainers who seem to hang around forever. Most have no clear function, but it is the role of these trusted men to hover around their masters, anticipating their every need and generally adding to the aura that surrounds them.Sitaram Kesri played that role admirably. On January 28, the day of the much anticipated first joint rally with Sonia Gandhi, current head of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, the Congress president did everything you would expect of a retainer of a khandaani family. His helicopter arrived at Rohtak, venue of the rally, a few minutes in advance of Sonia's (why the two could not share a ride together remains a mystery) so that he could receive her. That ritual over, the two arrived at the Police Line grounds together, where in a gesture to an elderly man, Sonia stepped aside to let Kesri get on to the stage first. That was to be the sole conciliatory move. From then on it was Sonia all the way.As she waved to an enthusiastic crowd, Kesri hovered about, wringing his hands uncomfortably with a smile fixed on his face. Except for one tentative raising of his hand, there was no attempt on the part of the Congress president to establish direct communication with the 65,000 crowd. It was as if he knew only too well that they had come to see Sonia and any attempt on his part to try and upstage her would boomerang. "I've come to see Sonia," said Santosh Bandola, who had taken time off from more mundane household chores to attend the rally along with her neighbour. "I don't know who this Kesri is.""The Congress had become weak but Soniaji's entry has enthused the party."- Sitaram KesriPeople were equally clueless about who would be the first to speak. Convention dictates that the senior leader always goes "last but not least", leaving the introductions and preludes to lesser functionaries. For the first time in 50 years, the Congress president chose to play cheerleader to its de facto head. And the honour of being the last speaker went to Sonia.From beginning to end, Kesri's speech was an ode to Sonia. "Congress kamzor ho gaya tha (the Congress had become weak)," he said. "But the entry of Soniaji has enthused the party and everyone in it." That was only the beginning. "She is the party's true leader," he said. "Only she can lead the country." The five-minute speech over, Kesri then stepped aside for Sonia's short and emotional spiel laced with homely references to "meri suhaag ki bhoomi (the soil of my matrimonial home)".Bolstering Kesri's sentiments about her being the true leader of the country, she promised to see that the Congress fulfilled its responsibility to the country even if she herself had decided not to contest the elections. A quick three Jai Hinds later, she wound up her speech and within minutes had crossed the barricade to shake hands with the women. And then she was gone, bringing Kesri's obvious embarrassment to a quick end.Joint rally? Perish the thought. It was Sonia's show all the way.- Namita Bhandare Mulayam Singh YadavEtahDay: January 27The hired Sahara Airlines five-seater Dauphin helicopter, its engines running, has been waiting on the tarmac for over 15 minutes. But permission from the air traffic control tower for the chopper to take off is delayed. Inside the blue and gold craft sits an increasingly fidgety Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Tell them to move it. I'm already getting late for my meetings," he urges the pilot. Minutes pass, there still is no go ahead. "I must shift base to Lucknow. It is impossible to campaign from Delhi." Yadav's impatience is a metaphor for the way he is running his campaign for Election '98.Finally airborne, and headed for Etah in central Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam begins scanning the days newspapers and becomes restless once again. "Look at the Janata Dal. They have annouced candidates for 16 seats and at places where they don't even have a hope," he says. Then he is lost in thought.Minutes later, spotting the microwave tower on the outskirts of Etah, he orders the pilot to circle the area for a couple of minutes before landing. Seeing the crowds begin to run towards the GIC College grounds, the venue of the meeting, his eyes light up: "In ilakon mein bahut kaam kiya hai (I have done a lot for this area)," he says.As the copter lands in a swirl of dust a few metres from the dais, Mulayam turns to his personal security officer Sheo Kumar Yadav: "Don't forget to remind me when I cross the 20-minute mark." Striding quickly towards the dais, he is engulfed by hordes of party workers led by the candidate Devendra Singh Yadav. Cries of "desh ka pradhan mantri kaisa ho, Mulayam Singh jaisa ho" rent the air. Mulayam is obviously a man in a hurry and asks a speaker to wind up his long speech. The next speaker too launches into a eulogy but is cut short by the defence minister. "Kafi hogaya (that's enough)."If you want to send me to South Block, give me 10 more MPs than the BJP.- Mulayam Singh YadavMulayam himself is no great orator. His diction is earthy and the style direct. The 25,000-strong crowd, made up mostly of the social groups supporting him like the Yadavs and the Muslims, listen intently to an unsparing attack on the BJP and other opponents. "Don't get taken in by the BJP. They will destroy the nation if they come to power," he begins before ridiculing Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "Look at us - we know how to till the land, milk the cows, tend the fields.Can Vajpayee do any of these things?" A roar from the crowd. Then some sharp criticism for the Congress. By blaming P.V. Narasimha Rao for the demolition of the Babri Masjid, he says, the party has exonerated the BJP. Mulayam continues to speak, ignoring the gentle nudge from his security officer. "If you want me to sit in South Block, you must send at least 10 more SP MPs than the BJP."The next stop is Shikohabad. The speech is shorter. "Food and shelter for the poor, pucca homes for the underprivileged and job guarantees for the youth," promises Mulayam before discarding the official car and climbing into a gleaming red Toyota to whiz off to a marriage reception of a friend's son. Next stop is to bless a newly-wedded daughter of another friend. "Yeh chhoti baaton ka khyal rakhna padta hai (I must pay attention to these small things)," he says. And that is a refrain that is bound to reverberate along Mulayam's campaign trail.-Javed M. Ansari G. K. MoopanarMangaduDay: January 27The Kamakshi Amman temple at Mangadu in Tamil Nadu is where people from Chennai go to pray for an early marriage of a daughter or a sister. Last week G.K. Moopanar, accompanied by a mandatory retinue of partymen sporting shoulder towels, was there to pray as well. It wasn't as much for the longevity of the Tamil Maanila Congress' marriage with the DMK as for his own party's own victory in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. And Moopanar had been careful about the hour chosen to launch the campaign well - it was the auspicious high point in the transition of the moon in its ceaseless cycle of waxing and waning.Ayya (sir) drove to Mangadu from Chennai in a Peugeot, and apart from offering prayers at the temple, was to address his first election meeting. A couple of hundred people crowded a narrow street flanked by shops selling articles of worship. And as they waited for Moopanar's arrival, they listened to songs organised by DMK-TMC functionaries, most of them eulogies to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. The shopkeepers seemed more engrossed in attending to their customers than to the political supplicants who had gathered in front of the dais outside the main wall of the shrine. The dais was duly decorated with pictures of Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajnikanth, besides, of course, K. Kamaraj and Moopanar himself.Ironically, Moopanar launched the TMC's election campaign from a constituency where his party is not even in the fray. To top it all, the DMK candidate in the constituency, Nagarathnam, is conspicuous by his absence. He had to stay away from the meeting because of some preoccupation but his supporters more than make up for his absence by almost choking Moopanar with multicoloured garlands. Nagarathnam, who had wrested the constituency from the Congress in the last election, will win hands down once more, says R. Sreenivasan, a local DMK leader.The future is ours and the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry too are ours.- G.K. MoopanarThe constituency, of course, is Sriperumbudur, now more known as the place where Rajiv was assassinated. Moopanar still talks about his loyalty to Rajiv and his mother. At the meeting, however, he says nothing about Rajiv or the Congress, still less against it. In fact he says very little about anything in his speech. And it is not much of a speech either. After some eloquent words from local leader, when it is Ayya's turn to speak finally, there is the characteristic staccato flow of words which taper off into inaudible murmuring.From what can be made out, Moopanar is appealing to the people to vote for the DMK-TMC combination in the name of Amman. Then, rather paradoxically, he requests them in the same breath not to give any quarter to those forces which are putting religion to political use. But no party or person is criticised by name. "The future is ours and the 40 are ours," he declares bravely. (Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry together have 40 Lok Sabha seats). And as he winds up, a song from Rajnikanth's hit film Arunachalam blares: "The lion is on its way to conquer."The business of making speeches over, the lion speeds away in his Peugeot, with Esteems and Marutis leaving a trail of dust over Mangadu's poorly-maintained roads.-S. Murali Devi LalRohtakDay: January 27At 85, former deputy prime minister Chaudhary Devi Lal, a candidate from Rohtak, is doggedly defying failing health to fight what he calls his "last election". This is a crucial contest as he still hasn't forgotten the ignominy of biting the dust in 1991 and 1996. That these defeats rankle is evident as Devi Lal ranges the Rohtak countryside to woo voters: "Aakhri baar aaya hoon apse vote mangne ke liye(I am seeking votes for the last time)."At each villages he visits, Devi Lal reminds the people of what he had done for the state when in power and makes it a point to distribute a copy of a laudatory biography of his. "Iss mein likha hai maine aapke liye kya kiya(In this is recorded all that I have done for you)," he says. Indeed, Devi Lal is banking on a mix of gratitude and populist promises to attract votes. Though a pale shadow of his rabble-rousing self, Devi Lal strikes instant rapport atchaupal(village square) meetings. Getting out from his Tata Sumo, the poker-faced Tau trudges with the help of a walking stick to thechaupal. In no time, word spreads and the crowd swells.Devi Lal begins with a rustic poser: "Bansi Lal se raazi ho ya naraaj(are you happy with Bansi Lal?)" An aide repeats what he has said. More questions follow. "Kya bijli aur paani milta hai aapko(do you get electricity and water?)". Then Devi Lal asks an elderly man sitting in the front: "Kyon chaudhary, budapa pension miltee hai tujhe(do you get old age pension?)" Agitated voices reply: "Kissi ko nahi milti ab(nobody gets it now)." Devi Lal has made his point. He reminds the people of his administration when they had power and irrigation water, loan waivers, compensation for crop damages, and old age pension that he introduced as chief minister in the '80s.I have come to you for the last time to seek your support. Or are you happy with Bansi Lal?- Devi LalBefore long, promises begin to flow. "Pension sau ki do sau kar doonga. Kisano ko bijli-paani muft hogi. Aur harijano ke gharon ko muft bijli doonga (I will double your pension; farmers will get free power and irrigation water, and Dalit homes will get free electricity"). The audience claps. Devi Lal winds up with a final poser: "Arrey ab mujhe gaddi par bithaoge ya nahin (will you vote me to power?)" The crowd roars in the affirmative as a smiling Devi Lal reminds an old man about his election symbol (spectacles): "Chaudhary, solah ko apna chashma na bhoolna (don't forget your spectacles on February 16)."As Devi Lal's convoy winds its way to the next chaupal, a wizened villager, Hawa Singh, echoes the mood: "Iss baar bhishampitamah ki haar ka kalank dhona hai (we have to erase the stigma of Devi Lal's defeats this time)." Indeed, Devi Lal's supporters are projecting the election as the last chance for the people of Rohtak to atone for not electing him earlier.Devi Lal would perhaps like to think that he will return as the king-maker in national politics. He is, however, only a lion in winter, seeking votes only to uphold his personal honour.-Ramesh Vinayak Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 9, 1998--- ENDS ---

Download App

Mood of the Nation Offer: Use promo code MOTN2026 to get ₹500 off on all Print + Digital subscriptions

Barbs become sharper, promises more alluring as electioneering gathers momentum

Barbs become sharper, promises more alluring as electioneering gathers momentum.

PUBLICATIONS

TELEVISION

EVENTS

RADIO

GAMING

USEFUL LINKS

PRINTING

WELFARE

DISTRIBUTION

SYNDICATIONS

WEBSITES

EDUCATION