Candidate Sonia

The spectacle is mesmerising: battle rooms and closed-door strategies; blueprints for reorganisation of party set-up and cadre deployment; crack troops, elite troops, rapid deployment forces and storm troopers springing all over; mapping villages for chaupal sabhas and jan samparks (mass contact programmes); a feeding frenzy of computer data on booth details and voting patterns; appointment of party committees and sub-committees to oversee every minute detail — from poster distribution to voter deployment. The urgency is contagious.

Even for the party oldtimers, this is no usual build-up to yet another mega election. The person to infect the party with this new business-like fever is Sonia’s annointed heir, Rahul Gandhi, who represents the neighbouring Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. Appointed the chief campaign manager by Sonia, the Gandhi scion has made Rae Bareli the “nucleus” of a brand new energised Congress, gush party colleagues.

The guiding principle of the young Gandhi is based on the party’s time-tested mantra: revive the organisation right down to the village level with primacy to the grassroots worker. “We’ve told our booth workers it is their responsibility to win the election,” says a buoyed Rahul, hot on the campaign trail, “we want them to know they are now part of the game. They will not be forgotten once the elections are over and will be deployed for the party’s development schemes later.”

While the Rahul Effect rubs on his team — an eclectic mix of NGOs, techies, family aides and political managers (see box: All Her Managers) — the Great Rae Bareli Campaign chugs on with its usual langour and bewilderment, as the family matriarch and son crisscross each other’s campaign trail, with their wagon of oldtimers and newcomers. Rae Bareli, like any other Congress stronghold, is still the link among Indira Congress, Sonia Congress and Rahul Congress — all alive and fine, living side by side.

Nothing illustrates this mix better than the medley outside the family’s doors.

It is nine in the morning and the SPG outside Sonia’s resthouse, a traditional town house, are barking orders into their walkie-talkies at the gate while ushering in streams of appointed visitors into the lawns. As is usual when she visits her constituency, Sonia will be meeting various delegations. Today, she will hear the Christian minority group, the Agarwal Samaj representatives and the town’s “Intellectual Group” before setting off on her two scheduled election meetings.

As the visitors take their turns, Sonia listens patiently to their grievances and promises solutions. The Christians want the St James School to be upgraded, the Methodist Church to be freed from its demanding landlord and the 200-year-old cemetery be restored with some financial help. SK Mal and Dr Nathan are hopeful “Madam” will do something for them after the meeting.

The Agarwals are demanding they be given some respect and not just be waved away as banias, says Samaj convenor, Anil Morarka. “We have come to express our solidarity and gratitude of the entire 50,000 Vaish community,” he says, “it is time the Congress recognises us and gives us some representation.”

The 50 “intellectuals” comprising doctors, lawyers and Lions Club members desperately want to “change the society for the better”. Their chief representative, Atul Bhargava, a civil engineer, pleads: “The will of government must be there. That is our message to Soniaji.”

But even Sonia’s new NGO-like approach flies in the face of the cacophony of the tattered, old Indira Congress, outside the gates, still passionate about serving the party. And there are many who have come with specific prayers. Satya Prakash Dixit from Lucknow — shaved and dressed immaculately in a khadi dhoti and Mahatma spectacles — believes only the Gandhis can give him his late father’s job, as field assistant in the state Irrigation Department.

“I will wait here with the others and appeal to Soniaji. It was Indiraji who gave my father and grandfather jobs in the government. Mulayam Singh’s government has refused to appoint me even though the job is mine. If I get it back, I will be back in my trousers. But until then, I am the Mahatama,” says the 30-year-old.

Among the drifters, derelicts and a few self-proclaimed freedom-fighters, who rave and sloganeer about the party and the family, are also the selfless volunteers who have come just because they feel they must serve the party.

Physically-challenged Madasu Srinivasa Rao has come from Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh. He is indebted to Indira for his job in the State Transport Corporation where he prospered to become a deputy Superintendent. Gurmeet Singh has come from Punjab to “strenghten Madam’s hands”. Yash Sharief, a tailor from Bellary, Karnataka, has come to campaign for “Madam” because the party was nice to them back home. They will stay in ashrams, masjids and temples, be fed by party workers, walk the villages asking for votes, and go home once the election is over.

The real test for Rahul and his Dream Team is not to somehow accommodate this motley crowd waiting at the gates. Their biggest challenge is to find a formula to transform the party’s customary convention of patronage and guardianship to one of corporate management.

The son’s distaste for feudal patronage is beginning to be known. He is exasperated when crumpled, sweaty applications are thrust into his hands by desperate villagers at election rallies. His techhie pal and team member, Kanishk Singh, has in fact customised the Request Management System (RMS), a software programme or cyber grievance cell, where complaints are fed in and processed quickly. “It is a swifter method to solve problems,” says Singh.

Team Rahul has introduced several more “reforms” for this election campaign. Responsibility will be in the hands of the district party workers with no interference from senior leaders. Apart from building a three-tier team comprising of district Congress committees, block committees and gram panchayat committees, the constituency has been carved into sectors consisting of two nyay panchyats for better election co-ordination. Then there are the 10-member booth committees who will galvanise voters. “The organisation is back in the hands of the party worker,” claims Rahul proudly.

“This is not an ordinary election,” says Indresh Vikram Singh, party spokesperson of Rae Bareli, “we are going to work hard so that Madam breaks all records. It is crucial because it will show that the people believe in her sacrifice. That they believe when she says that power is not important for her, that it is service and welfare of the people that is close to her heart.”

As the gleaming cavalcade of Safari cars and media vans hit the dusty, village trail, the chaupal sabhas and jan sampark are in full display. The mass contact programmes strategised by Team Rahul has been designed to take the party to the people once again. As Rahul’s Land Cruiser, driven by family loyalist Satish Sharma, leads the way, the somnolent countryside is jolted to momentary attention and joy as the Gandhi scion stops, swoops and addresses the public about the follies and injustice of his politcal rivals.

“The Centre has released funds for your development but the state government refuses to use it,” Rahul repeats at every stop. Rahul has covered dozens of villages in the last fortnight, combing the district fine.

Sonia Gandhi’s victory at the poll is a foregone conclusion but will Rahul’s war room manoeuvres take the party ahead in the rest of the country? Rahul himself believes this model can be replicated elsewhere. “It is possible,” he says, “but we haven’t thought about it yet. We will wait for this election to be over to dwell on it.”

At the party’s district headquarters, the old guard holds up its pride as they indulgently let the young Turks work out their plans. The wheezy Uma Shankar Mishra, Pradesh president, is no pushover when he says, “This exercise of appointing booth and block committees has been done since Rajiv Gandhi’s time. It was successful then too. But over time, we discovered the agents were betraying us. Those we appointed were actually working for other parties.”

He, however, has no answers for the future of the Congress in the state: “When the development issues rise over caste, our party will win in Uttar Pradesh.”

Outside the party office, workers animatedly discuss the potential impact of the star sister’s arrival. Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is a poll agent and is expected on the eve of the poll to oversee the arrangements. There is swell of sentiment when they recall Priyankabitiya’s warmth and spontaneous charm, a far cry from brother Rahul’s reservedness and syndicated style.

Says a party worker with characteristic heartland astuteness and crafty custom: “Don’t forget that when Priyanka campaigned in Rae Bareli two years ago, she was wresting the seat from Congress arch rival Akilesh Singh. In Amethi too, when Sonia first contested in 1998, she was campaigning against Sanjay Singh, who was with the BJP then. Rahul has got both seats when it is already with the family today. So this is not his real test.”

The party workers, however, agree Rahul is certainly more forthcoming these days even though they hanker for that old style democracy, laced with personal warmth, which Priyanka is so comfortable with. “She is always in command,” says another party veteran, “she intervenes at the right time, at the right place.”

“For instance,” he goes on to explain, “during the last election in 2004, Priyanka was in charge, and during one campaign, we were running very late. Instead of stopping at pre-scheduled Congress street rallies, Priayanka would stop the car wherever there were SP flags fluttering and ask the crowds to vote for the Congress. It had such natural effect. But Rahulji talks to everyone, he will listen to drunks and tramps too, because he wants to understand everything and everyone.”

As nostalgia and sentiment for the family is being relentlessly hammered into the psyche of the constituency, both by the Gandhis and the party workers, it is the party election posters pasted all over the town which is a measure of the Family’s full force. As one walks by, the dynasty gazes benignly from every corner with the star turnout of Feroze, Indira, Rajiv, Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka — smiling and waving, hugging and touching, promising a future and hope.

It is an offer Rae Bareli is not conditioned to refuse easily.

All Her Managers

KISHORI LAL SHARMA

Sonia’s rotund, flush-faced political manager began his career in Amethi when she contested polls for the first time in 1998. Sharma was made in charge of organising public, one-to-one meetings with her constituents, but soon rose to be her trusted political manager, much to the envy of other Congress district officials. He stands firmly between his boss and the rest today.

CAPT SATISH SHARMA

Among the last of Rajiv’s loyalists, the former petroleum minister is happy championing the Sonia cause, driving Rahul around in a gleaming Land Cruiser through the fields and villages of Rae Bareli. He would be happy too if he got back his old job in Delhi.

DISTRICT CONGRESS COMMITTEE OFFICIALS

This motley bunch of party workers ranges from old-timers who hark back to the days of the late Indira Gandhi to ex-MLAs, block committee members and poll committee members. They take orders from Sharma to the DCC president.

Wing Commander (retd) Manoj Muttu

As head of Team Rahul, Muttu first emerged on the scene along with Kishori Lal Sharma to assist Sonia in Amethi. The affable and earnest Muttu was soon given the task of looking after Sonia’s development plans — his late wife Pavitra was based permanently in Amethi, entrusted with women empowerment and welfare programmes. He is in charge of all prime projects in Amethi, including the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, and administers the various Rajiv Gandhi charitable trusts. He also heads the Rae Bareli Vidhan Sabha Sadar segment.

KANISHKA SINGH

He is probably Rajiv Gandhi’s 21st century cyber dream come true — this computer engineer and a classmate of Rahul’s has all the information on Amethi, voter turnout to school dropouts, a click away. A new entrant, Singh has been a constant companion to Rahul ever since he won the Amethi seat two years ago. Among his contributions, a customised Request Management System software for speedy processing of appeals and grievances from Amethi to its MP. For Sonia’s election, Singh is in charge of door-to-door campaigning in the Saraini Assembly segment.

VIJAYA MURTHY

This NGO fits in with Rahul’s development model for Amethi — she is one of the prime movers of Rahul’s pet literacy project, Pratham, for primary education. She also supervises the 1,500 and more women’s self-help groups set up in Amethi in the past two years. This election, she is in charge of the women working round-the-clock to craft flags, badges and other campaign material, apart from mobilising them on voting day.

RAM KRISHNA, GS JAMWAL, V DESHMUKH

This former-SPG-official trio pool into the core team in all election matters — from organising chaupal sabhas to jansampark mini road shows. They have been made in charge of Bachrawan, Datmau and Sataon Assembly segments in Rae Bareli, albeit under Sharma. They will also take care of the 20 hi-tech vans equipped with video publicity material for the bypoll.

ROBERT VADRA

Rahul’s brother-in-law is thrilled he has a job to do for his mother-in-law. While Vadra will only spend the last two days of campaigning in Rae Bareli, unlike the rest who have been here for a fortnight, he has been given charge of the booth committees. With grandfather-in-law Feroze Gandhi’s picture appearing in family posters today, Vadra may just have a future as the next Nehru-Gandhi damaad in politics.

AND THE FUNDS GO TO…
Development work from May 2004 to April 2006

MPLADS

• 21.04 km of roads: Rs 217.4 lakh

• 1,066 handpumps: Rs 198.27 lakh

• 87 school buildings: Rs 201.06 lakh

• Others: Rs 58,500

CENTRAL FUNDS
Roads

• Central Road Fund: 210.45 km, Rs 217.4 crore

• PMGSY scheme: 122.57 km, Rs 24.8 crore

• Bridge on the Ganga: Rs 30 cr

• 258.7 km of roads repaired: Rs 65.65 crore

Rural electrification

• 266 villages electrified by Power Grid Corp: Rs 30 crore

• 24-hr electric supply through NTPC & line changing repairs: Rs 30 crore

Education

• Scholarship scheme, Rs 35 lakh

• Teaching room, Jehanabad: Rs 8 lakh

• New private schools — Ryan International; Lucknow Public School, upgrade of Feroze G Polytechnic College

Health

• Trauma Centre: Rs 1.5 crore

• 11 operations facilitated

• 68 patients treated at Delhi

• 187 treated at Rae Bareli

• Equipment for treating Japanese Encephalitis: Rs 1 crore

• Handicap Rehab Centre: Rs 12.14 lakh

• Vaccine: Rs 10 lakh

• 10,000 patients treated through the Lifeline Express Train Hospital

Tourism

• Dalmau Tourism Place: Rs 183.63 lakh

• Samaspur: Rs 177.05 lakh

Communication

• 2 post offices computerized

• Speed-post services in Rae Bareli and Maharajganj

• Currency Exchange in Maharajganj post office

• Three ISRO-organised centres

• 52,000 BSNL SIM cards

• 25 mobile PCOs run by handicapped

Gas Authority of India

• Gas pipeline for NTPC and City

• CNG station

• Community kitchen for rickshawpullers

• Community kitchen for district hospital

Doordarshan

• DD (FM) service

• Increase of DD net coverage

Railways

• Upgrade of Rae Bareli station to ‘A’ category, 2 new trains