February 23, 1998

Jayashree Mahanta
AGP

Nagaon  Assam
Electorate: 9.7 lakh
Main Rival: Nripen Goswami (Congress)

No, sorry, I can't tell you where madam is going. It's a secret", says security. Sonia Gandhi? No thank you, Assam has its own "madam". Dr Jayashree Goswami Mahanta, 42, wife of chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. And nobody will tell you where she's campaigning, the ULFA could be listening you see. Even so, perhaps the AGP workers should worry about their own security: ULFA has beaten up 15 of them so far.

So, in come the bullet-proof cars and security ring and out goes communication with the voters. Banal speeches -- "I know you want to stop hearing the gunfire and wake up to the singing of the birds" -- are not going to bridge that divide. The AGP has enlisted popular stand-up comic "Bhayamama" to buoy the campaign. He has many jokes -- "It's not BJP, it is Ja-le-bi. A lot of sweet words, too much of which will upset your stomach" -- but does not elicit much response. Jayashree does not fret too much. It may have taken her four attempts to get her job as a lecturer in Cotton College, Guwahati, but with her husband by her side, becoming an MP might be a bit quicker.

-- Avirook Sen

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