February 23, 1998

Vasundhara Raje Scindia
BJP

Jhalawar  Rajasthan
Electorate: 10.5 lakh
Main Rival: Bharat Singh (Congress)

There are some advantages of being an active three-term MP. "Maharani sahiba" Vasundhara Raje Scindia knows it too well. She has traversed each village of her sprawling Jhalawar constituency many times in the past nine years. Now, she is seeking to reap the harvest of familiarity. At the Lodha-dominated Chandipur village, three drummers and two jeeps precede her cavalcade. A small crowd of some 400 people, nearly a third of them women, jostles to get a glimpse of royalty. After a quiet tete-a-tete with the women and a brief aside with the pradhan, Vasundhara mounts the platform adjoining the temple.

Do you remember when I first came to Chandipur? There were no roads. After seven years of BJP rule in Rajasthan things have improved. But what can we do in seven years if the preceding 43 years were rotten? This election, however, is not about drains and roads. It's about removing the corrupt raja in Delhi, who has cleaned out the treasury. You have to remove him. So vote on the 16th and don't tell me later that you didn't go because you had to clean the house or feed the child."

Then it is back to the women, most of whom want to know why electricity can't be had for free. Vasundhara has no real answers, but at least she has become a familiar sight. "She is great," confessed a party worker, "she does so much letterbazi (writing letters) on our behalf."

-- Swapan Dasgupta

Back to Carnival

Write to us | Subscriptions

© Living Media India Ltd