Amethi: Chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ resonated through the narrow lanes of Amethi Saturday as BJP president Amit Shah held a roadshow along with union minister Smriti Irani, who is contesting against Congress president MP Rahul Gandhi, the three-time MP from this seat.
The roadshow received an electric response from the bustling crowd as BJP workers, brimming with enthusiasm, raised slogans of ‘ek baar phir Modi sarkar’ (Modi government once again).
Shah termed the battle in Amethi as one between dynasty and development, and asked people to choose wisely. The crowd, a huge number of which were women, also interacted with Smriti ‘didi’, as she has come to be known after 38 visits to the constituency in the last five years since her defeat to Gandhi in the 2014 elections.
Also see: In photos: Amit Shah tells UP to choose between dynasty and development as he backs Smriti Irani
The slogans reverberating across various parts of Amethi drove home the seriousness of the BJP’s campaign to breach the Gandhi family bastion — ‘6 tareekh ko mat jaana bhool, Smriti didi, kamal ka phool’ (don’t forget on the 6th, Smriti didi and the lotus flower, BJP’s symbol), ‘Abki baar, Amethi hamaar’ (Amethi is ours this time), ‘Amethi hai taiyaar, ek baar phir Modi sarkar’ (Amethi is ready, Modi government once again’).
If it wasn’t clear before, Shah’s roadshow and the reception it received made it clear that the BJP believes it can defeat the Congress president in this largely rural constituency approximately 130 kilometres from state capital Lucknow.
The party has sent some of its biggest star campaigners — Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and Bhojpuri film star and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari — to canvass for Irani, whose growing local popularity could also prove to be a big factor in taking the fight to Gandhi.
Irani carves out some space
Whether rushing to douse fire by collecting water through a hand pump or calling up officials directly in case work is getting affected, Irani has created her own space in Amethi. This is impressive considering that the Congress has only lost twice here, once in the Janata Party wave of 1977 and then for one year in 1998. Four members of the Congress’ first family have won this seat — Rahul, mother Sonia, father Rajiv and uncle Sanjay.
Irani, the former actor and current union textile minister, recently said the fight in Amethi is between a “laapata” (missing) MP and the people of the constituency. Her accusation that Gandhi has neglected Amethi has got amplified this time as the Congress chief is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, which has given the BJP the opportunity to claim that Gandhi is scared of his imminent defeat at the hands of Irani.
In 2014, Irani had lost by over one lakh votes to Gandhi, but that was much smaller than his 2009 margin of 3.7 lakh votes.
“She made it a point to come back to this constituency and work for the people despite losing. Who does that? She has listened to the people and got so many infrastructure projects approved, despite not being the MP. People have seen her work closely and they are going to make her win this time,” said Gobind Singh Chauhan, the BJP’s spokesperson for Amethi.
Glut of projects approved
With BJP governments at the Centre and in the state, Irani and the BJP’s strategy has been to get projects approved for Amethi. A senior BJP leader said in the last five years, Irani has got several works sanctioned, including a 200-bed hospital in Tiloi, a CT scan centre at Gauriganj hospital, WiFi centres at two places, a Sainik school and a Kendriya Vidyalaya, an FM centre in Gauriganj and a trauma centre in Jagdishpur. She has also organised a rozgaar mela (employment fair).
The BJP’s optimism also stems from the fact that in the 2017 UP assembly elections, it had won four of the five seats that make up Amethi parliamentary constituency. “In the nagar palika panchayat elections too, we won five out of six seats. The people are with us, especially the youngsters who have appreciated the work of the Modi government and expect an MP who will not desert them,” spokesperson Chauhan said.
According to another senior BJP leader, the 2016 surgical strikes and the Balakot air strike have also been a topic of discussion in the villages. “People want a government which is decisive,” said the leader.
Gandhi’s open letter
Gandhi Friday penned an open letter to the electorate of Amethi, urging them to vote for him. He promised to push schemes for the region that were stalled by the BJP, a charge refuted by Irani and her party.
According to some voters, this letter, as well as the fact that Rahul’s sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has camped here for days and run his campaign, has been a result of Irani’s push.
Also read: How Priyanka is making up for Rahul, Sonia absence in Amethi & Rae Bareli
“We have always supported the Congress, but Rahul Gandhi never comes back after winning, forget about doing something for the people. Smriti Irani came back, despite not winning, and has done so much. Even PM Modi came here. The Gandhis have only used us for votes,” said Asha Devi, a resident of Korwa.
Given that this is Amethi, it would be difficult to bet against a Gandhi family win. But Irani and the BJP have ensured they won’t go down without a fight.