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April 5, 2007 Rahul Gives Congress Momentum, but It May Not Be Enough By Liz Mathew and Brij Khandelwal Kanpur/Agra Rahul Gandhi's crowd-pulling road shows may have given the Congress the initial push in the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections, but power for the party is still a long way off. The star campaigner and Amethi MP's just concluded three-day campaign through southern Uttar Pradesh - he had earlier toured the western part of the state - expectedly drew massive crowds anxious to take a look at the Nehru-Gandhi scion. It also galvanised the party for the April 7-May 8 polls. But the voter on the street seemed quite certain that the impressive PR work by Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son was not enough to revive the party's fortunes in the state. "His impressive road show has indeed galvanised Congressmen who will now join the electoral fray with renewed vigour," an optimistic Pooja Tiwari, Congress candidate from Fatehabad, told IANS in Agra. But will the optimism hold, ask political observers who wonder how far the road shows will change the political equations in Uttar Pradesh, where politics is played out on caste and religious lines? Will Rahul be able to conquer more than just hearts by zipping through the bumpy roads of this sprawling states in his Land Cruiser, waving at the crowds and just occasionally stopping to shake hands with some of them or at best receiving memorandums or shawls from others? "You are not selling mobikes or other household appliances. Politics is too serious a business and you cannot leave any lasting impression through road shows like the one he is holding," commented Surendra Sharma at Agra's Hari Parbat crossing. Rahul reached Agra four hours late on Wednesday and disappointed many like Sharma. "He has not come prepared with any speech or assurances for the people of Agra. He did not do anything to offer the city as locals expected. It was just a formality," said V.P. Singh, a political activist in the city. Others pointed out that Rahul was not "touching" on real issues. "He did not speak in Kanpur either. In all his speeches, he did not refer to the high prices of dal or aata. For common people, 'roti kapada makaan' comes before anything else," said Monu Singh, a rickshaw puller at the Kanpur railway station. Asked about inflation, Rahul himself was reluctant to react at a press conference in Kanpur. "You ask (Chief Minister) Mulayam Singh. We are not in power here," was his response. But Congress leaders are hoping for the best. "You wait and see how he is going to change the party's prospects. We will win as many seats to be a crucial force in the state," Congress MP and Uttar Pradesh leader Rajiv Shukla told IANS. The Congress has won only 25 seats in the 403-member assembly in the 2002 state elections and is desperately trying to make a bid for power. IANS | April 5, 2007 |
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