Ignorance rules even as Rahul Gandhi draws big crowd in UP

At the dusty intersection of Gauri Bazaar, not far from where Rahul Gandhi started his Deoria to Delhi Kisan Yatra 20 days ago, a fruit-seller first wants his query answered when asked about impact of the yatra.
Pointing to a Congress hoarding that prominently carries the face of Priyanka Vadra besides Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, an aged Ajay Kumar asks: "Yeh Kya Indira hain?" Told she is Indira’s grand-daughter, he expresses surprise: "Inhe Kabhi Dekha nahi.Yeh kab aayengi?" Asked about the Congress CM face Sheila Dikshit on the hoarding, in far smaller size, all in a group of a dozen who have assembled, plead ignorance.
Travelling through Purvanchal, this in a nutshell seems to be the Congress story . The effort put in by the Grand Old Party is huge, and for a change, organised. There is a CM face, though some ask why Dikshit has not accompanied Rahul in the first leg of the Yatra, that ended Friday. The crowds at his road shows, by most accounts, are big and more responsive than his 2012 Yatra, explained in about a dozen unscheduled stops Rahul took daily, cutting the distance covered on most days from about 200km to 140-150km. Congress functionaries see these as encouraging signs. But once the crowds have gone home and Gandhi’s bus moves on, the buzz over the Congress seems to be going back to its low ebb.
"Ab Rahul Bhaiya se khaat liyen hain to vote ke baare mein bhi sochenge... par Behenji (Mayawati) sabse aage hain," Bhala Ram, a landless labourer says in Deoria’s Chapauli village, proudly showing the Khat he brought home from Rahul’s nearby Khat Sabha venue on September 6, like many others. His daughters use it to sleep, rather than a sole stiff wooden plank the family had so far. In nearby Pipra village, farmer Akhilesh Singh brought not one but two Khats.
Pointing to the Congress flag atop his house, he justifies: "I vote for Congress from Indira days. Yeh Bhaiya ne acha gift diya hai," he says. So will Congress end its 27-year-old exile from UP? "Hamare ek vote se kya hoga? People are split between SP-BSP," he says.
Many villagers express anger with BJP whose leaders alluded to them as thieves for "looting" the cots.
In Gorakhpur, where Rahul had a big road show, people have little recollection of him two weeks later. "Rahul Ko Gorakhpur mein kya, pure Desh Mein Koi nahi puchh raha hai. He is not even confident to enter the UP fight as a CM face," says Bhola Krishna, a shopkeeper at Golghar Chowk, in a dismissive tone. A couple of his customers join in: "The youth is with Modiji. He laid foundation for constructing an AIIMS here. What did Congress do for us?," Rajani Prasad, says. In the interior, in Sahajani village which Rahul visited, Sunita Devi hasn’t made up her mind: "There is goondagardi under SP. Rahul’s people spoke about a female CM. Mayawati bhi theek hi hain."
Congress leaders say Akhilesh Yadav’s "young and clean" image in 2012 has now transformed into one who has no power. "Lot of crowds came in Rahul 2012 Yatra but did not translate into votes as SP propped up Akhilesh - a young and unknown commodity then. It because a Rahul Vs Akhilesh election. The crisis within SP has destroyed Akhilesh’s image. Lot of minority voters are also coming for Rahul’s Khat Sabhas and express concern about insecurity," a Congress functionary said. A group of Muslim elders in Faiza Gate area of Mau, where Rahul had come, however say Congress may not be the default alternative to the SP. "BSP it is," they say.
Congress has tried to build its recall value and has plastered the Gorakhpur-Faizabad highway with wall paintings of ‘27 Saal, UP Behal’ slogan. "Rahul is reaching out to people, travelling....that is what politicians should do. Zor laga raha hai, mehnat kar raha hai," says Radhe Singh in Sant Kabir Nagar. Off this highway in Basti, a Muslim family thinks high prices are an issue. "We voted for SP in 2014 elections but the BJP won here. We will think hard this time...look at where dal prices are going," says Yunus Mohd, a local tailor.
In Mohammadpur in Azamgarh where Rahul had come too, the faith seems in local MP, Mulayam Singh Yadav. "Rahul criticises Modi’s divide-and-polarise agenda. But Netaji (Mulayam) has been with us...only he can beat Modi," says Anees Khan.
Congress overtures towards Brahmin votes and Rahul’s Ayodhya visit to the Hanumangari temple seems to have confused Muslim voters, ET found in conversations with people in Azamgarh and Mau. In Ayodhya, people ask why Rahul did not go the whole hog and visit Ram Janambhoomi site too.
"Hanumangari is about devotion and faith. Indira Gandhi came here. Rahul came here but did not go to Ram Janambhoomi. Isn’t then this just about politics?" a group of shopkeepers here ask.
At K.S. Saket P.G. College in Ayodhya, students are not enthused either. "Lot of crowd came to see Rahul in road show in Faizabad..imagine if Priyanka comes here," says Sunita Sharma, her college mates nodding. She just touched upon the quintessential dilemma for Congress in UP.