A few hours in Priyanka territory
by Hari Jaisingh

AMETHI: At 27, she has emerged as a star campaigner in her own right. Villagers wait for "Bitiya Priyanka" on roadsides or at makeshift meeting venues.

The rapport is instant as she stops her chocolate-coloured Tata Safari in front of a group of old and young women, children and even old men. "Namaste", she greets them and beams a smile, like her father Rajiv Gandhi. "Aap log kaise hain?" she asks in a natural tone.

"Hum theek hain, bitiya. Bas sab taklifon mein thay. Ab theek ho jayega," an old lady wearing a tattered sari responds. "Ab main aap ke saath hoon," Priyanka tells them reassuringly and moves on to the meeting places. There is a scramble for small-sized posters carrying photographs of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia. A placard above proclaims: "Congress ka saath, garib ke saath"(Congress is with the poor).

Priyanka on the campaign trail in Amethi.

The village is in the Gauriganj Assembly segment of Amethi. I am sitting on the back seat of Priyanka's vehicle, watching the proceedings from close range. Nothing has been pre-arranged. I manage to locate the Priyanka caravan with the help of Jagdish Piyush, a Congress worker, during my whistle-stop tour of the Rae Bareli-Amethi belt in Uttar Pradesh early this week.

I introduce myself and move along with her in a couple of villages. After checking my credentials the ever agile SPG men accept my presence ungrudgingly.

The first major halt this afternoon is at Babupur village (Jamon block) in the Gauriganj Assembly segment. It is 4.30 p.m. She is accompanied by her sister-in-law Mitchelle Vadra. First of all, she apologises to the people for being late.

I am reproducing below the gist of her flawless Hindi speeches to give the readers an idea of how Priyanka communicates her feelings and thoughts which, looking at the response, go straight to the people's heart.

The next half is at Hargaon village. Time 5.30 p.m.

Here, again, she apologises for being late and explains:"This is because I met villagers waiting for me en route.

At the end of her speech, Priyanka mingles with the people, shaking hands, doing namaste and even accepting bits of paper containing their grievances. SPG men have quite a tough time. But they are understanding and cooperative, not interrupting her natural interaction with the villagers belonging to the local community. I can see poverty writ large on the faces of most of them.

I parted company and was soon Lucknow-bound. A few memories flashed back of the period I had followed Rajiv Gandhi as a beginner in politics in seven or eight villages of Amethi in 1980. Here are some observations:

First, Rajiv spoke like a parrot, repeating the speech word by word, in village after village.

Priyanka, in sharp contrast, has spontaneity about everything. At the same time, she varies her idiom and thoughts.

Second, like her father, Priyanka too has a charming disposition. There is a natural Rajiv touch in the way she smiles and communicates with the people.

Third, unlike her parents, she speaks fluent Hindi.

Fourth, she carries herself with grace and dignity without being flashy.

Fifth, she talks straight, does not attack the opponents or parties. She talks about the people, their problems and development, without any malice or rancour. Perhaps, in the process, she is able to rekindle a new hope among the voters in Amethi.

If Amethi is any indicator, then more than Sonia, Priyanka is likely to set the pace for Congress politics. She has already cast a spell on the people of Amethi.

The BJP candidate, Mr Sanjay Singh (a nephew of former Prime Minister V.P. Singh), may not admit it. But the writing on Amethi walls is clear. Only a miracle or mass rigging can reverse the results.

"I am committed to development"

AMETHI: During my brief tete-a-tete with Priyanka in her vehicle, I found she could easily feel the pulse of the people her father had cultivated so painstakingly.

"It is amazing that the development process has come to a halt here," she said without any sign of criticism or blaming anyone.

"Why make people suffer?" she asked and added, "I am disturbed to see the degree of poverty here."

"We will have to work hard and start afresh. Of course, the development process can be revived with the cooperation of the state administration," she remarked.

"Don't you think it was wrong to transplant big industries in the area?" I asked.

"Perhaps, we shall have to review everything and work for basic development of the area and the people so that their standard of living could be raised. We shall have to strike at the root of poverty and bring the people to the mainstream of development with due stress on self-reliance," she observed instantly.

It may be recalled that a number of industries have either closed down or are sick in the area. This was also echoed by Mr Arun Nehru (now with the BJP) when I met him at Rae Bareli. (Among the crisis-ridden units are Samrat Bicycle, Amethi Textiles, Usha International, a dozen rice mills, a hundred and odd small and medium-scale units in the Jagdishpur industrial estate.

Knowledgeable people blame the state government's indifference for this plight. Even banks subsequently did not provide them the promised loan instalments.

Perhaps, realising these harsh realities, Priyanka probably is toying with some new concepts to address herself to the question of poverty and development.

"My commitment is total. I shall work for the people's welfare," she told me.

I could feel a new political mood in the air.

Priyanka has arrived. She has been camping here for the past 10 days and will remain there till the polling day. The people of Amethi would perhaps be willing to adopt her via Sonia. — H.J