| Friday , May 9 , 2014 |Rival sows, BJP harvests | ||
| RADHIKA RAMASESHAN | ||
Varanasi, May 8: Denied a ground for a rally, Narendra Modi today virtually hijacked whole streets in Varanasi to stage a roadshow. It seemed as though the entire city had spilled over onto the roads and alleyways through which the BJP mascot’s entourage wound its way for a good three hours, from the helipad to the party election office. As the 5km crawl turned into a near-repeat of his April 24 roadshow — when he had filed his nomination — local BJP leaders thanked district magistrate Pranjal Yadav and the Samajwadi Party government for handing the party a “poll-eve bonanza”. Yadav, also the returning officer, had denied permission for a Modi rally today at the premier venue of Benia Bagh, fearing tension in the minority-dominated neighbourhood. Led by Modi, the BJP tore into the Election Commission today, questioning its neutrality and courage and telling it not to hold polls if it couldn’t ensure security. But a local BJP official described how the party had turned the rebuff into an advantage. “Our cadres’ batteries were recharged because they felt cheated by the Samajwadi Party government. Their anger intensified when they heard Rahul Gandhi and (chief minister) Akhilesh Yadav would hold roadshows here on Saturday,” he said. “The leaders sensed the militant mood among the workers and realised that rather than end the saga by giving in to the administration, they ought to maximise the political gains and keep cadre morale high till polling day.” So, as Modi waved to the crowds from the front seat of his white SUV, party leaders Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar and Amit Shah sat on a satyagraha with local leaders and workers outside Banaras Hindu University demanding the district magistrate’s removal. The streets bristled with the “militant mood” the party source had referred to. It seemed almost a throwback to the Ayodhya era, when anyone who dared question the Ram temple “movement” was shouted down or taunted. Each time a clutch of Aam Aadmi Party activists tried to make their way through the crowds, they were heckled with slogans of “Har har Modi, ghar ghar Modi” and “Pagal,pagal, bhago, bhago (Lunatics! Run)”. Passing shoppers were handed saffron caps with Modi’s picture and made to wear them on the spot. Fifteen vehicles, including police vans, made up Modi’s motorcade. At the vanguard were open-top jeeps, each carrying a man painted in saffron and balancing a teakettle on his head in tribute to Modi’s purported beginnings as a “chai wallah”. Some people who said they had gathered at 4am had to wait till 8.30am for a glimpse of their man, whose SUV was stopped every 100 metres by crowds of youths. “He represents Hindutva, and by Hindutva I don’t mean the Ram temple. I mean Modi is an individual who is not afraid to speak up for the Hindus,” a young man said. “The other politicians have capitulated before the Muslims. In Varanasi, the Samajwadi government has ensured uninterrupted power for Muslim weavers while Hindus endure 12 to 13 hours of power cuts every day.” But the rural pockets outside the city seemed cold to Modi. The crowd at Rohaniya, a stronghold of BJP ally Apna Dal which enjoys support among backward-caste Kurmis, seemed as uninterested in his tourism plans for Varanasi as in his attack on the poll panel. The mood was different outside BHU, where Jaitley thundered: “Men in constitutional offices need to be bolder. Timid men can dwarf high offices. If you can’t ensure security, don’t hold the polls in the country. But if you do hold the polls, please provide a level playing field.” In Delhi, party leaders and workers marched towards the Election Commission office before being stopped by police, who allowed a small delegation to meet the panel. Modi tweeted: “It is unfortunate that EC is not concerned about the institution’s neutrality.” But at the Rohaniya meeting, as a video advertised the Sabarmati’s supposed makeover in Ahmedabad, a restive audience loitered aimlessly or walked out in steady dribbles. “They prevented me from paying homage to Ma Ganga,” Modi thundered, without inviting a single clap. The administration had cleared Modi’s Ganga aarti but the BJP cancelled it, saying the nod had come too late. |
POLL PANEL IS PREJUDICED
Yet, EC could not scuttle Modi’s campaign
Despite the many efforts of the Congress and its minions in the Election Commission to scuttle Mr Narendra Modi's campaign in Varanasi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate emerged victorious on Thursday. This was proven by the thousands who thronged his car as he was driven through the holy city. Prohibited by the Election Commission from holding a rally, Mr Modi did not address the public in Varanasi but only visited his party office. Yet, as he travelled around Varanasi, he virtually led a road show — exactly the kind that his rival Rahul Gandhi is expected to conduct on May 10. If the Congress vice president was hoping to eliminate competition, he has failed spectacularly. Sadly, in the process, he and his supporters have also undermined, yet again, the credibility of a national establishment. Indeed, the blatantly partisan behaviour of the Election Commission and its Returning Officer in Varanasi Pranjal Yadav, against Mr Modi, is a self-inflicted assault on an entire institution. Over the years, the Election Commission, mandated with ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections which form the cornerstone of the country's democratic structure, had established itself as an institution that was not just independent and neutral but ruthlessly so. By and large, the common man trusted the Election Commission to ensure a level playing field during elections. Unfortunately, that trust has now been shaken.
Prohibiting the prime ministerial candidate of the country's main Opposition party from campaigning, and that too in his own constituency, is as inexplicable a decision as it is unacceptable. On its part, the Election Commission has sought to justify its decision by citing security concerns. This makes absolutely no sense at all. If candidates have been able to campaign in areas hit by Maoist violence and terrorist activities, there is no reason why Mr Modi cannot rally in a peaceful urban centre. Also, if the Election Commission cannot ensure a safe environment for election campaigning, then it needs to ask itself if it is capable of managing the world's largest democratic exercise. But, in this case, the EC is hardly inept. Instead, it has shown itself as prejudiced and politically compromised. Little else explains its simultaneous grant of permission to the Congress for Mr Gandhi’s May 10 road show in Varanasi.
It has escaped no one's attention that the Congress vice president's rally in Varanasi is expected to be a tit-for-tat response to Mr Modi's May 5 rally in Amethi, Mr Gandhi's home constituency. The May 5 rally wherein Mr Modi offered a stinging criticism of the Nehru-Gandhi family and its brand of dynasty politics, rattled the Congress high command. It is understandable that Mr Gandhi wishes to fight back. But while he is free to campaign in Varanasi, using state institutions to scuttle his rival's campaign in the city is not only a sign of utter desperation but also evidence of the same low-level politics that he and his supporters accuse Mr Modi of. Sadly, the EC has proved itself to be a pliant partner — apart from the fiasco in Varanasi, it has also turned a blind eye to Mr Gandhi's brazen violation of the code of conduct in Amethi on polling day. The BJP’s top leadership has done well to register a strong vote of protest against the Election Commission. This put the poll panel on the back-foot and forced some small, last-minute concessions, which were rightly turned down by the party as too little, too late.
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