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Unsuccessful with the Moon, Vinod Khanna takes stars to Gurdaspur

Neena Chaudhary in Gurdaspur

Having failed to bring the promised moon to this constituency -- which forms the backwaters of Punjab -- filmdom's macho man of yesteryears Vinod Khanna is now banking on Bollywood stars to ensure his second entry into the Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket.

Admitting that he not riding any wave this time, the matinee idol turned politician, has decided to rely upon his colleagues in the film industry to woo voters in his predominantly rural constituency.

It was the mood in favour of the Akali-BJP alliance and his own image as a filmstar which had helped Khanna trounce five times winner Sukhbans Kaur Binder in the 1998 elections. On promises to convert this extremely backward border area on the extreme northern tip of Punjab into the Paris of India, Khanna had managed a victory margin of over one lakh votes.

But things have changed since then. Now the voters in his constituency, with as many as 1600 villages, including some very difficult to access, look upon him as any other politician. People expect results and seek a balance sheet of his performance in response to their previous year's confidence in him. While formidable potholes on long stretches of the highways narrate stories of neglect.

Realising his changed image among the people, Khanna managed to secure the support of 'Dream Girl' Hema Malini to canvass for him last weekend. The heartthrob of many a Punjabi, she was specially flown in from Mumbai.

The magic of Hema Malini seemed to work immediately if the response of the people at various meetings she addressed was any indicator. At one meeting, people did not allow a BJP stalwart to complete his address.

"This is a lifetime occasion for me though I am not greatly impressed by the BJP. I shall vote for this moment," says Jaswinder Singh, a school teacher pointing towards Hema Malini and Vinod Khanna on stage.

It was the response of the people which forced an Akhil Bharatiya Yuva Morcha activist to assure the people that if successful, Khanna would again be accompanied by Hema Malini to thank the electorate.

"Hema Malini, is only a beginning. 'Mogambo' Amrish Puri, Danny Denzogpa and Tom Alter have also confirmed their programmes next week. 'Himalaya Putter' Akshaye Khanna, 'Miss World' Ashwaraya Rai and 'Mast Mast girl' Raveena Tandon are also expected," says an excited supporter at Khanna's makeshift election office at Syal Niwas in Pathankot.

Khanna accepted his new role as an ordinary politician, of whom people had expectations to improve their everyday life. Unlike last time he is up early in the morning to meet his party workers and activists of the Shiromani Akali Dal. He hits the dusty roads to address public meetings by 9 am accompanied by his wife Kavita.

After doing about 15 rallies everyday, Khanna returns at about 11 pm to obtain feedback and plan strategy. He accepts that while his matinee idol image vanished, the disadvantage of being forced to seek the people's mandate too soon has given him less time to show results as a politician.

However, he refuses to accept that the anti-incumbency factor against the Akali-BJP government in the state would act to his disadvantage. He argues that the people are quite wise, and he could see that they wanted a 'strong and stable' government headed by Vajpayee. He also says that people were annoyed with the Congress and other political parties to have conspired to pull down the Vajpayee government for no fault.

"From Pokhran to Kargil, the performance of our government, especially Mr Vajpayee is unparalleled in the 52 years of the country's freedom. Secondly, the people would not like to hand over the reins of the nation to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, not only because she is a foreigner but because she has no experience to be entrusted with such a vital position. Being married into the Nehru-Gandhi family is no criterion at all," he says when asked to spell out the issues he places before the people.

However, the odds seem to be against Khanna this time as the 11 lakh voters prepare to exercise their choice on September 5. Of the electorate, 4 lakh are from the upper caste Hindu community, two lakhs are upper caste Jat Sikh farmers, three lakh are scheduled castes and 1.25 are Christians.

The Hindu community, though with an considerable leaning towards the BJP is quite annoyed with the state government and may prefer the Congress candidate Bhinder, whose performance in 13 years in the Lok Sabha appears much more attractive. The Hindus accuse the Badal administration of being partisan in approach by neglecting their areas.

With the split in the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Jat Sikh vote is expected to be divided both on ideological grounds as well as localised and personalised issues. Former Minister Sucha Singh Chhotepur, on the ticket of the All India Shiromani Akali Dal which has aligned with the BSP and has the support of various fringe political outfits and Sikh religious groups, is expected to queer the pitch for Khanna, to the advantage of Bhinder.

The gruesome murder of Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in Orissa along with the incidents of attacks on nuns in Gujarat has its echoes here as well. Moreover, the Christian community is sore with the Badal administration for not fulfilling the promise of last elections regarding reservation on the lines of scheduled castes. This Christian vote is likely to go en mass the Congress way.

After having "suffered" alliances of the BSP, the scheduled castes also seem to be suffering from the complex of being political orphans. They too seem to be drifting back into the Congress fold.

Meanwhile, despite their best efforts the Akali-BJP alliance has not been able to generate the euphoria around the Kargil success and capitalise on the hyped emotions of the people.

Though the people favour Vajpayee to be best suited to head the country, it is very difficult for them to accept Khanna as a buffer between them and the prime minister. People who are fed up with the bad performance of some legislators and high handedness of others, may actually vote against Khanna to teach there local leaders a lesson.

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