A strange undercurrent in favour of the otherwise obscure Congress party became visible at the end of Thursday's polling in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Lucknow, the political bastion of Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart and former prime minuster Atal Behari Vajpayee over the past five general elections.
While bulk of the urban voters boycotted the poll, a large section of those who ventured out in the scorchng heat, seemed to be too disgusted with the two key players--the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party as well as the Samajwadi Party. With the charismatic Vajpayee indisposed this time, the Congress seemed to have emerged as a favourite. Though that may not necessarily mean any lead for the Congress, it surely indicates an upward swing for the party that had not been in the political reckoning either in Luknow or in most other parts of Uttar Pradesh for nearly two decades.
What seems to have put off the urban voter most, in the state capital was the mushrooming construction of sprawling stone memorials by Mayawati in different parts of the city at a whopping cost of about Rs 2500 crore--all out of the tax-payer's money. "Lucknow, that was once known as a city of gardens, was fast turning into a stone city with several gigantic stone memorials being erected here. I have nothing against Ambedkar or Kanshi Ram or any other BSP icon to whom the memorials were dedicated , but how can you allow such blatant extravagance in their names," asked retired amy officer Colonel F U Ahmed.
"I have all the respect for the great social reformers hailed as icons by Mayawati, but I am sure even they would thesmelves have never approved of such loud and wasteful expenditure, which could have been put to more fruitful use by building institutions, hospitals or factories in their very names, besides being of use to society, these could have also been a huge source of employment", argued 25- year old management graduate Ravi Singh , who is still struggling to build a career for himself.
What had added to citizenry's antipathy towards BSP's local nominee Akhilesh Das was his vulgar display of wealth , against which several complaints were already pending with the Election Commission.
In the absence of Vajpayee from Lucknow, a constituency over which he held sway in the past five elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party's dominance over the voters seemed to have faded out. Yet, BJP candidate Lalji Tandon was banking heavily upon an appeal issued by his mentor Vajpayee.
The people's dissillussionment with the SP was largely attributed to its widely known patronage of criminals. Besides SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's recent bonhomie with BJP rebel Kalyan Singh had also led to disenchanment among Muslims, with the Samajwadi Party.
"Since Vajpayeeji is not contesting anymore and one is sick of both Mulayam and Mayawati, I though it best to go for the Congress, which must have learnt it lesson after remaining in wilderness all these years," remarked 39-year old Shamsher Bahadur, a guard at a private company.
"People have tried and tested all others in the past 20 years and other than beating their own trumpet and making tall promises, none have done anything for the poor and needy, my father tells me that Congress was still better of the lot and I can see some hope in Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka, so I chose to vote for the Congress," confessed 25- year old Sushil Kumar, a Dalit driver, who had earlier voted for the BSP but now looked totally disillussioned with the party.
The same reason was given by many other youth who were clearly tilted towards the Congress. "I must have been a toddler when the Congress was in power, but I am ready to believe that after remaining out of power for two decades, they would be better than others," observed Neeraj a 21- year old unemployed first timer voter.
Muslims too seemed quite inclined to favour the Congress, particularly in the aftermath of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's handshake with Kalyan Singh who is closely identified with the demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque. And to top it all, SP nominee--actress Nafisa Ali--was not taken very seriously.
Fifty-three year-old school teacher Andaleeb Ahmed felt, "Congress was the only party that could be relied upon, even someone like Mulayam Singh Yadav who was blindly supported by Muslims for years, had now ditched the community by aligning with BJP's most communal face, Kalyan Singh." According to her, "in any case, Congress nominee Rita Bahuguna Joshi also has the best profile among the Lucknow candidates."
Yet, there was a sizeable section of Muslims who chose to opt for BSP's Akhilesh Das, simply because they saw in him the potential to defeat the BJP. "I may not be impressed by Mayawati, but in the current scenario in Lucknow, I could not see anyone other than Akhilesh Das with a greater potential to defeat the BJP, said Mohammad Aqeel, a Moulvi, who claimed to have done so after consulting a nyumber of other Islamic clerics in the city. It was another matter that Das had been doing much to woo the Maulanas oif the city over the past few months.
Retired journalist Madan Mohan Bahuguna was of the view , "Rita Bahuguna has got enbloc support of the large Uttarakhand population in Lucknow because her father the late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna was highly revered by the people in the hills as well as by Muslims who held him very high esteem." However, what seems to have gone against Rita Bahuguna Joshi was her extremely late entry into the fray . She was declared the nominee barely 20 days ago.
