Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mounted an impressive four-hour roadshow over 12km. BJP unleashed its state-level leaders for an intensive door-to-door campaign. However, candidate Narendra Modi wasn't around. AAP's indisposed Arvind Kejriwal too was missing in action even as the party put up another striking roadshow.
In the evening AAP leader Sanjay Singh announced it had deployed 250 spy cameras across the city to keep a tab on BJP workers, alleging they might try to influence voters.
Interestingly, when asked if he felt that party leader Kejriwal's claim of winning 100 seats was an over-estimation, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav replied, "Our aim is not just to win seats or overthrow the establishment but provide an alternative politics. This is not a matter of one election."
Regional biggies also stamped their presence. UP CM Akhilesh Yadav led a giant Samajwadi Party "carnival" through the heart of the city, the Ground Zero of 16th Lok Sabha polls. In reply to Narendra Modi's jibe on 'baap bete ki sarkar', Akhilesh came up with the barb that he (Modi) could also make such a government if he is capable of doing so. BSP chief Mayawati, though, chose to stay away from hotly contested seat.
The Congress spectacle was a psychological boost for the party candidate Ajay Rai who seemed to have slipped in the race. The roadshow was also seen as the Congress leader's riposte to Modi. The BJP PM pick had broken an unwritten code of top leaders not entering each other's bastion by holding a giant rally in Rahul's Amethi. The Saturday show was Rahul's tit-for-tat show, with Ghulam Nabi Azad, Raj Babbar, Madhusudan Mistry and Mukul Wasnik in supporting role.
With the slogan "Kashi ki rai, Ajay Rai" reverberating all around, the Congress show started at around 7 am from Gol Gadda, an area of weavers, and ended near Banaras Hindu University. It began with the shehnai rendition of "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" by members of Ustad Bismillah Khan's family.
The inherent theme was "local vs outsiders" referring to Rai and his outsider rivals Modi and Kejriwal. But the soundtrack played on the occasion, "Tum toh thahare pardesi" was a little off the mark considering because the hero of the show Rahul was also an outsider in Varanasi. "The turnout of people in such huge numbers on the streets shows we have the support of everyone in Varanasi," said Avinash Pande, AICC secretary and in charge of UP.
The AAP roadshow lost some sheen because of the absence of some key leaders, but attendance was impressive. Numbers like "Dil diya hai jaan bhi denge" added to the occasion. While addressing the crowd, Javed Jaffrey said, "Hamara kaam aag lagana nahin, aag bujhana hai (Our job is to douse the fire)," to a thundering applause. Kejriwal spent a relaxed day at his temporary residence in Durgakund, meeting with leaders and other small groups. The party is now brainstorming over strategy for the V-Day.
Akhilesh Yadav kept his supporters waiting for two hours at the Maldahiya crossing, the starting point of his show. There was some confusion over the garlanding of Sardar Patel's statue. The CM was supposed to do it, but at the last moment the party candidate Kailash Chaurasia was sent to perform the task. There were whispers all around thereafter: "Since Modi garlanded the Patel statue after his arrival, Akhilesh avoided doing it." But once the Samajawadi juggarnaut rolled on, there was a sea of red all around. The ruling party had left no stone unturned to make it an extravaganza to remember.
On the final day, however, the BJP changed its strategy and went for an intensive mass contact programme, an exercise generally done a day before the polling. "Our focus is on approaching maximum voters," said UP co-in charge Sunil Bansal. "This is part of the planning," a BJP leader said. "It's an attempt to convert the excitement visible on roads into votes."
When most of the BJP national leaders were absent from Kashi on Saturday, one face made his presence felt: Murli Manohar Joshi. The sitting MP and a Varanasi voter was spotted in Udhe village seeking support for Modi indicating all's well that ends well.
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