Hitting off his poll campaign on Tuesday, BJP general secretary Varun Gandhi attacked the proponents of caste and communal politics and said merit should get preference over influential “family tree” in system of governance.
Varun’s motorcade took off from the Amhat airport and crisscrossed along the dusty roads showing at several places posters of “laksh 272 +”. In his whistle stop public meetings Gandhi first stopped at Damor Bazaar where a make shift stage is set with the backdrop showing “Swadeshi Patanjali store”.
Making an emotional appeal, Gandhi recalled the “personal bonds” of his father Sanjay Gandhi with the Constituency. “ Ye mera ghar hain, main apne ghar vapas aya hoon, Rajneeti karne nahin,” he said with folded hands. The crowd of mostly young voters lustily cheers him.
The Gandhi scion appeals voters to reduce “poison of caste divisions. “ I want to lessen this poison, I am extending my hand for the task and you have an opportunity to rebuild the mutual trust and harmony”, Gandhi said.
Strategically poised, Sultanpur has Faizabad (Ayodhya) in North, Pratapgarh and Allahabad in South, Jaunpur in the east, and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi in the west.
The next stop for the Pilibhit MP-turning-Sulptanpur lok Sabha candidate is ‘Rajapur market’ where a shopkeeper Rajwansh Singh vouches that “ the contest is one-sided.. Varun will win hands down”.
Gandhi waves to his gusty supporters and takes to mike “ ham bahut lamba rista banana aye hain, yahan koi buland avaz nahin hain jo apke adhikar apko dilaye”, he says. Amidst “Zindabad” sloganeering , he added “ I want to create opportunities for merit and those not having the benefit of dynastic tag or money power to enter UP assembly”.
Finishing off his address in 10 minutes, the young BJP leader moves to another congested and nondescript locality of Mayang. Gandhi has planned to hold 71 such public meetings over the next few days.
In the interiors of Sultanpur, posters of rival candidates SP candidate Shakeel Ahmed, ( known more as an owner of petrol pump and shops) and BSP’s Pavan Pandey also show up occasionally, but there was no presence anay where of Congress candidate Amita Singh, wife of sitting MP ‘Raja” Sanjay Singh.
Amidst the poll chorus, the campaign procession passes by Aliganj pockets of Muslims inhabitants who number around 1.50 lakh in the constituency with dominant Brahmin and Thakur voters. “Muslims may go for the BSP or do tactical voting”, says Satish Mishra, a BJP supporter, but hastens to add “that around 5000 Shias may also side with the BJP”.
The next meeting is at Kurwar bazaar which is much bigger than the earlier. Gandhi continues with his progressive theme . “ Ham Chunao Agda-pichda , Hindu-musalman chunao na banaye”, he says. “ Kurwar ki road achchi bane aur usme sabke bacche chalein, yahan factory lage to sabko rojgar mele”, Gandhi says and crowd greets him with a cheerful abandon .
leading the poll caravan of vehicles and wheels of political messaging of “hope” deeper into the sprawling constituency, the Gandhi scion moves on to yet another corner meeting in a constituency that has started enjoying its new found “celebrity status”.