Dressed in a crisp white shirt and beige trousers, Rajendra Raosaheb Shekhawat hits the dusty streets of this Vidarbha town in a blue Santro early in the day like any Congress election candidate, accompanied by a secretary and a lone policeman for security.

In a Dalit slum colony, he runs into a group of women. “Tai, vote for panja, (Sister, vote for the hand symbol),” he appeals earnestly. Party workers who have joined him along the way raise slogans describing him as a “young and dynamic leader”.

The 43-year-old Shekhawat’s campaign does not mention his mother, President Pratibha Patil. “If I use my mother’s name, then people will give me more votes than necessary,” he says smiling. “My background will definitely help me in the elections. But I only want enough votes to reach the winning margin.”

The confidence does not, however, appear to have turned into complacence for the first-time candidate.

Shekhawat says he leaves home with his wife early in the morning, and sweats it out in the heat all day, returning only around midnight. He walks about 5 km every day, meeting voters; his wife moves with groups of women Congress workers across the constituency. Between them, they have been trying to cover all parts — and all social groups from Sindhi businesspeople to Dalits and Muslims — of Amravati.

The Congress and NCP central leaderships have thrown their weight behind his campaign: among those who have visited or are scheduled to visit the constituency are Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, Sharad Pawar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Chhagan Bhujbal.

... contd.