Lucknow: Campaigning in Lucknow ended on Monday amidst huge pomp and show. While leaders from all parties, in a last ditch effort to woo the voters held roadshows and rallies, the party workers, too, pitched in with all their might to convince the electorate to vote for them.
Travelling across the city, BJP President Rajnath Singh, who is contesting from Lucknow, along with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, held rallies and roadshows and ended the party's campaign in the city with a jan sabha.
The party workers exuded confidence of the BJP's victory in the polls and dismissed any effect of Aam Aadmi Party. "Not just the BJP, leaders like Mayawati and Mulayam Singh have loads of experience. They know Lucknow. AAP does not understand the politics of Lucknow. They won't have an impact," head of BJP's media cell Manish Shukla said.
Rubbishing the comments, AAP's candidate from Lucknow, Javed Jaffrey questioned the opposition on their claims and said, "Yes, I admit I don't know the names of the roads in Lucknow. But I will learn in 15 days. What have those leaders, who know the city in and out, done in all these years?"
The ruling Samajwadi Party, too, held campaigns on two wheelers and cars in the city. An exuberant set of party workers with banners and flags, filled the streets shouting slogans of the party. Many even drove cycle rickshaws wearing red clothes to catch the eye balls. In the support of party candidate Abhishek Mishra, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav held a massive roadshow in the heart of the city.
Nukkad sabhas from the Congress too were seen along with roadshows where party workers appealed to the people to vote for its candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
Even as BJP sounded confident, the worrying factor for the party is the caste factor. Except the BJP, all major parties have put up Brahmin candidates including the Bahujan Samaj Party whose nominee is Nakul Dubey.
With senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Lucknow East MLA Kalraj Mishra forced to leave their seats and contest from Kanpur and Deoria respectively, the party has been facing the charge of promoting Thakur candidates at the cost of Brahmins.
Muslims, too, are a major factor in the constituency and their first choice is to back a candidate who can defeat the BJP. Yet the BJP leaders are hopeful that the Narendra Modi wave will ensure Singh's victory. They also say that the Brahmin votes will get divided among the Congress, Samajwadi Party and BSP.
With political parties holding roadshows across the city, the ones to suffer were the residents who were stuck in traffic jams for long. It also seemed like a nightmare for the police, which had to divert the routes to ensure utmost security. "Several routes had to be diverted to avoid the roadshows of one party clashing with the other," a police constable said.
While it was a nightmare for some, there were others who reacted positively to the elections. "It has been over a month that we have been on the roads. We have not got any time to rest. But it has been a fruitful phase for us," said the head of a transport company who has been providing his vehicles for election related work.
However, with the Election Commission's directives strictly in place, the markets bore a deserted look. The flags, banners and badges of various parties, sat right in their place with hardly any takers. "The EC has banned the use of stickers and banners even on the cars, people are hardly buying anything," a disappointed shopkeeper said.
The campaigning in the form of roadshows has ended in the city, but door to door canvassing and word of mouth will continue. However, the decisive force, the electorate, will reveal its verdict only on April 30 when the city goes to polls.
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