For Tripti Shakya, it’s time for a different kind of a stage show. The 35-year-old bhajan singer, a known name in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, is busy addressing public meetings in dusty villages these days, having decided to take on Samjawadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in his stronghold, Mainpuri, as the BJP candidate. Kurta-churidar, sports shoes, and sunglasses are part of her standard gear — a contrast to her glamourous outfits for stage shows. She rests only while traveling from one village to another in her air-conditioned Scorpio.

“A different kind of glamour is associated with music shows; it is all organised by others. Here, you have to face everything on your own,” says Tripti describing the difference between the two worlds.

For Tripti, it wasn’t a sudden decision. She joined the BJP about a year ago. “It was May 29, to be precise. It changed my life. I joined the BJP and started eyeing this seat. I finally got the ticket. Now I feel it’s possible to defeat Mulayam Singh in Manipuri,” claims Tripti on her way to Kusumara from Mainpuri. “Jharkhand ke CM haar sakte hain to ye Mulayam Singh to bhootpurva CM hain (If Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren can taste defeat, so can Mulayam, after all, he is an ex-CM),” she says.

During the 40-km drive, her cellphone continues to ring. “Organise meetings to be addressed by Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh at more than five places,” she tells a caller. Raman Singh is a Thakur and she needs Thakur votes to counter Mulayam’s Yadav-Lodh combination.

... contd.