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With electioneering for the Uttar Pradesh assembly poll gradually picking up, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi's fledgling party's campaign was bolstered by her 23-year-old son Varun Gandhi's entry into the poll arena.
Varun Gandhi was drawing large crowds in UP's Terai belt wherever he went distributing posters bearing his mother's picture and that of the Shakti Dal's symbol - a pair of scissors.
By fielding a dozen candidates in the region, Maneka Gandhi hopes to get back at her ally, the BJP, which gave her party only six seats in and around Pilibhit, Lakhimpur-Kheri and Bareilly districts.
Maneka would need all the help she can get if she wants to make an impact in the presence of the Samajwadi Party, BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress.
Varun Gandhi displayed an inherent flair to impress crowds wherever he went.
Sanjay ka bitua aaya hai (Sanjay Gandhi's son is here) goes the refrain wherever he halts to address roadside meetings.
"I have not come to sell any dreams. I simply urge you to rise above the considerations of caste and creed," he tells his audience.
He manages to connect instantly with his logical arguments against casteist politics.
"Do you ask the caste of the doctor when you seek treatment; do you ask the caste of a teacher when you send your child to a school?"
After hearing a loud 'No' from the crowd, he goes on to add, "Then why do you look at the caste of the person whom you wish to send as your representative to the state assembly? You should look for a good well-meaning human being."
Keeping his speeches brief and crisp, he concludes with, "The polling on February 14 is going to decide your fate. I will go back to my own life, but it is for you to decide who should be entrusted with the right to determine the destiny of your area and who could bring about the desired change in this utterly backward region."
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