In the cosy conference room of a hotel in Chikmagalur, three-time MLA and former minister Sageer Ahmed was animated. “Show me one leader nowadays who can unite people irrespective of caste and creed like Indira Gandhi could,” he challenged. However, his seemed to be a lone voice. From textile shop owners who exchanged vacant looks to youngsters who confidently shook head in the negative, the ghost of Indira Gandhi has all been exorcised from the present of the hill town—the same place that gave her an electoral rebirth in the 1977 by election when all hopes seemed lost.
At the same time, fervent love for Indira still lives on in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara, where Indira’s chosen candidate Kamal Nath—whom she called her son—reigns supreme. The same memory still ignites the political milieu of constituencies like Rae Bareli, Indira’s first and lasting love. “I was travelling through Delhi [when Indira was PM] when we spotted a crowd near the Teen Murti Bhavan,” reminisces Advocate Ram Sevak Chaudhary from the dusty little town. “It turned out to be farmers wishing to meet with Indira. When they learnt we were from Rae Bareli, we were ushered into the building and into the presence of the PM. When we told her we just wanted to meet her, she chided us. Why did we spent money when she came regularly to Rae Bareli? We were put up in the Western Court, the accommodation reserved for MPs' guests, and someone was assigned to take us sightseeing. The hospitality lasted two days.”
Fast forward to 2019, the BJP is fighting against these everlasting memories. The political project of the BJP in the current elections can be summarised very simply thus: Amethi [another Congress stronghold] or Rae Bareli must fall.
With the first three phases of the general elections finally having come to a close, the BJP can now move on to real business. Almost all southern states have voted, as have the northeastern ones. Up next, the Hindi heartland—the component most crucial to BJP’s fight to retain power at the Centre. In the first three phases, 120 of 282 constituencies that the BJP won last time, have gone to polls. The significance of the upcoming 162 cannot be exaggerated enough.
West Bengal
Asansol is a commercial hub of West Bengal, a coal belt which borders the state of Jharkhand. Currently represented by BJP’s MP Babul Supriyo, the constituency that goes to vote on April 29 will witness a pitched battle. On the one hand is a polarised electorate, especially in the backdrop of the 2018 riots that tattered the city. On the other is the ruling TMC’s attempt to reclaim the constituency by fielding actress Moon Moon Sen, who had done the impossible in 2014 by wresting Bankura from nine-time CPI(M) MP Basudeb Acharya. In addition, an inter-state dynamic comes to play in the seat. Almost 50 per cent of the constituency consists of migrants from Jharkhand and Bihar. In 2014, the Modi wave, which swept the two states, had cascaded into Asansol. Says Sukhbir Singh Deo, a Jharkhand native in Asansol, “the current MP has not done very much. But, this will be a vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh, much of the national media attention was focussed on the constituency of Varanasi, represented by PM Modi. For weeks, the Congress teased and taunted that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might contest from Varanasi. However, a couple of days ago, it finally announced that Ajay Rai, who came third in 2014, would be its pick in Varanasi. The move was seen as a resignation to defeat, and PM Modi followed up the next day with a massive rally through the streets, commencing at Banaras Hindu University. The mega roadshow culminated at Dasashwamedh ghat, where Modi, along with CM Yogi Adityanath, attended the aarti in the evening.
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Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal will go to polls on May 12. Easily one of the most high-profile contests, Congress heavyweight and former MP CM Digvijay Singh will take on Malegaon blast-accused Pragya Singh Thakur in the city. Thakur’s candidature, which had come under a cloud after her comments on Karkare’s death, was delayed by 25 days—the reason, sources assure, only because the BJP wanted Digvijaya Singh beaten. Bhopal has been a BJP stronghold for close to three decades, with around 30 per cent minority population. Unlike Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s pocket borough Vidisha that is emblazoned with posters of causes celebrating cows and Hindu Yuva Vahini (Adityanath’s organisation), Bhopal—a two-hour ride away—has been a shining example of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (communal amity).
Bihar
Nestled along the banks of river Ganga, the quaint village of Begusarai in Bihar has become the site of a high-octane fight among firebrand student leader Kanhaiya Kumar for the CPI, Tanveer Hasan for the RJD and BJP’s Giriraj Singh. All eyes are on Kumar, and not always for a good reason. Kumar’s candidature has incited angry op-eds from across the country—he was going against a Muslim candidate with a decent chance of winning, in a Parliament with one of the lowest representation of the minority community for decades. But, Kumar is unruffled. His campaign is well underway with the support of volunteers, AISF comrades and two Scorpio SUVs donated by well-wishers. He speaks from a small stage, and almost always ends up having to sing—on the insistence of the listeners—the famous JNU anthem Azadi. Fitting, given he hails from the hometown of Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar. Says a youngster Abhishek who attended his rallies, “My only problem is that he still acts like a student political leader. That won’t work anymore.”
(With inputs from Pratul Sharma, Sravani Sarkar and Rabi Banerjee)
