Uttar Pradesh. You know? That large stretch of land between Delhi and Bihar? Well, it's considered India's most significant State when it comes to elections. It's simply a matter of numbers, that State accounts for 85 seats to the Lok Sabha. And it has also been homeground for the like of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia and Rajiv Gandhi. Such impeccable credentials.
Given the current political atmosphere, UP is still the centre of attention during the ongoing elections. It has other accomplishments to its credit. Among them legislators in the State Assembly attacking each other with microphones, tables and chairs, which finally led to the unprecedented ruling that all furniture in those hallowed precincts will remain nailed down. And, of course, the mammoth Cabinet of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government of Kalyan Singh, that is embellished by several luminaries who spend their time between official meetings and the Central Jail. Other than that, it is also the political home of the likes of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Murli Manohar Joshi, Mayawati, not to speak of Kalyan Singh. It is little surprise, therefore, that must UP bhaiyyas would rather be elsewhere, but no one will have them.
The point here is that three of the most keenly contested constituencies in the State are also located here - Amethi, Rai Baraeli and Lucknow.
In the State capital, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will be attempting to retain his seat. That, of course, shouldn't be much of a problem given the competition. Despite the infighting within the State BJP, with Kalyan Singh facing off against Rajnath Singh facing off against Kalraj Mishra facing off against Sakshi Maharaj facing off against Lalji Tandon, there is little doubt that Vajpayee will still pull through. Why? because at the other end of Karan Singh, erstwhile royal who has been demothballed by the Congress. Karan Singh has a true political pedigree. He is a former Union Minister who fathered a population control policy that was based largely on forced sterilisation and this policy was almost adopted by the first Vajpayee Government before its 13-day tenure ended abruptly. Then again, he has other feathers in his cap, like sucking up to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah before they parted away and, most importantly, a publicly acknowledged taste for the music of the Pet Shop Boys and Madonna. There's still more, he is also a hardcore Hindutva proponent, who makes Vinay Katiyar look like the Imam of Jama Masjid. What's he doing with the Congress rather than the saffron camp? Who knows? Does politics make sense?
Then there's Amethi, where Congress president Sonia Gandhi, should demolish Bharatiya Janata party seat-holder Sanjay Singh. Singh is another perfect politico. He is another royal, who first ditched his mentor Rajiv Gandhi, then ditched V P Singh, who made him into a political being, then joined the BJP and threatened to rejoin the Congress if he were denied the ticket to Amethi. The BJP gave in and there's Sanjay trying hard not to lose his deposit. Sanjay Singh also happens to be married to a certain Ameeta Modi, after having divorced Garima Singh. Ameeta is the widow of Sanjay Modi, a Commonwealth Gold medallist, who was the last Indian to have performed creditably on the international badminton stage. After his murder, Ameeta found solace in the arms of family friend Sanjay Singh. And for some reason, they were accused of having murdered Modi, though the case was dismissed.
But the worst fate is that of the Rai Baraeli voters, who have a choice between Arun Nehru of the BJP and the Congress' Satish Sharma.
Nehru is Rajiv Gandhi's cousin who displayed filial loyalty by ditching Rajiv to form the Jan Morcha with V P Singh. Thereafter, fortunately, for Indian politics, Nehru vanished from the scene and sulked quietly in his farmhouse, churning out a series of one-man polls for various publications. Nehru also enjoys the distinction of being the biggest heavyweight in Indian politics, in a close contest with J Jayalalitha.
If that's not bad enough, there's Satish Sharma, he of the Italian tiles, Dutch wife and sheer favouritism while he was the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas. While this greasy politician remains as oily as ever, the latter part of the portfolio has been usurped by Nehru.
Unfortunately, for Indian politics and the people of Rai Baraeli, one of them will win!!