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The perceived highhandedness of Bharatiya Janata Party candidates and their "non-performance" is a constant refrain one hears in Allahabad, and this may be the reason for the contrasting picture presented by two meetings held less than a kilometre apart on Tuesday.
While the BJP meeting addressed by Union Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi at Barot had a sparse headcount, a rival meeting held at Hadia by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was very well-attended.
Murli Manohar Joshi touched upon a variety of subjects, from terrorism to the revision of history books, while Mulayam Singh Yadav got down to brasstacks, promising farmers free electricity, cheap loans and free medicines for cattle.
This also explains the apathy of the voters, who don't seem to be interested in national issues.
Rakesh Dar Tripathi, the BJP candidate from Hadia constituency and public works minister in the Rajnath Singh government, said that the BJP is a cadre-based party with strong grassroots support.
"I have personally done more than million rupees worth of work in my constituency. People know my work and will vote for me," he said.
People know that the BJP will come to power in UP, BJP candidate from Pratappur Dr Devraj Singh said. "They know that with the BJP in power in Uttar Pradesh, there is no point in electing an opposition candidate in Pratappur, as he won't be able to get any work done," he said.
But speaking to rediff.com, BJP sources said that the party is confident of bagging only Allahabad North, which has Narendra Singh Gaur, the state education minister, as its candidate and Allahabad South, which has assembly speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi as its nominee.
Murli Manohar Joshi, after touring Karchana, said that the BJP is confident of bagging the SP stronghold.
The SP has fielded incumbent and national general secretary of the party Reoti Raman Singh from the constituency. He, however, said that the BJP's days are numbered. The substantial Muslim population in Karchana is disenchanted with the BJP for bringing in the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance and banning the Students Islamic Movement of India, he said.
But the anti-incumbency factor may not necessarily work in favour of Reoti Raman Singh. He is facing a tough fight from Bahajun Samaj Party candidate Bal Kumar Patel, brother of notorious dacoit Dadua.
Praveen Tripathi, a student in Allahabad University, said that the youth are disenchanted with the BJP government for raising the fee. And facing the brunt of their wrath is the education minister in the Rajnath Singh government, Narendra Kumar Gaur.
But the BJP hopes that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's address at the KP ground in Allahabad, which was attended by close to 50,000 people, will decisively swing the fence sitters to its side.
