"Bharat Mata ki jai, Pohri ki janta ki jai. Raise your hands and repeat after me...” says Shivraj Singh Chauhan to the large gathering assembled in the blistering summer heat.
They listen to the chief minister and Yashodhra Raje from rooftops, windows and shops -- the narrow road blocked by a multitude of village folk.
"If there was a good minister in my cabinet, it was Yashodhara Rajeji," he says of her stint as tourism and youth minister in the state government, where she launched brought fresh initiatives, even getting O&M ad icon Piyush Pandey to work on the catchy MP Tourism campaign Hindustan ka dil dekho.
"But the party said that Delhi also needs able people, so now we have to make her win with every one of your vote to bring the change in Delhi. MP is like my garden, I am like your gardener and I want every flower in my bagiya to be blooming happily," says Chauhan, using a metaphor which seems rather misplaced in the barren landscape that stretches beyond him.
As soon as she drops him off at the helipad, Yashodhara Raje sets new course on the dry, wretched heath -- heading to another lonely stretch off the main road. On her way, raising her palms in a firm namaste to passersby.
"I have been given this constituency (after delimitation). Whose constituency was it before? What 2,000 crores of development (referring to Jyotiraditya Scindia's claim of bringing projects worth that amount to Guna)? It is mind boggling. Where do I start from? In a place that is so pichhda hua (backward), you will have to find a starting point."
With just two years of parliamentary experience, Yashodhara Raje knows she cannot base her winnability on her lineage alone. In a changing India where voters are more aware, her biggest ally can only be performance if she wants to make a success of her politics.
"If we do not take up the vikas ka mudda (issue of development)seriously, nobody is going to let us come back to power. We need fresh ideas and young minds that are churning with ideas. Yesterday I was listening to Milind Deora on television and he knew his facts, figures -- he was focused and stood out in the debate with the other candidates in his South Bombay constituency."
It is not easy for politicians from opposing parties to be complimentary, but Yashodhara Raje does not hum and haw about speaking her mind, which has sometimes come in the way of her political ascent.
Image: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan at the rally for Yashodhara Raje.
Also see: The secrets of Shivraj Chauhan's success | India Votes 2009
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