Rahul's first roadshow in Lucknow a damp squib

Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi on Thursday stormed through different parts of the city in an unusual three-and-a-half-hour long road-show which ended in a damp squib. Sharat Pradhan reports.

In keeping with his own brand of politics, Rahul chose to drive through each of the six assembly constituencies in the state capital covering a distance of 34 km in exactly three hours and twenty minutes, making it more like a race.

However, for obvious security reasons, he had to avoid an open vehicle and instead stood near the open door of a luxury bus, with Special Protection Group sleuths providing him cover from both inside and outside the bus.

It was another matter that his long motorcade followed by dozens of motor-cycles threw the city traffic completely out of gear. And being the busiest rush-hour, people had to wait in long queues on the roads taking hours to cover short distances.

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Congress nominees for each of the six urban constituencies in the district, perched themselves inside the bus and stood by Rahul one by one as the vehicle moves from one constituency to another.

Sure enough, with the paucity of time, there was no better option for the Gandhi scion who has been campaigning like a one-man Congress army across the length and breadth of the sprawling most populous Indian state.

He however completely ignored the newer part of Lucknow stretching across Gomati Nagar.

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Polling in Lucknow is scheduled on February 19 and the first time that the star campaigner set his foot on the electoral turn here was as late as on February 15. And then too he could address two only two rallies, where he pulled impressive crowds.

The Congress general secretary, who had flown back to Rae Bareli on Wednesday evening, returned to Lucknow on Thursday afternoon around 3 pm after which he meandered through the thoroughfares and streets of Lucknow until about 7, when he reached the VVIP guest house before bidding adieu to the state capital.

While crowds cheered him in the first half of the road-show, the latter part saw fewer enthusiasts who ventured out of their homes or offices to see him.

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While enthusiasm was visible in certain old localities of the city, there were thin crowds in other areas, where only by-passers stood along the roadside to wave out to him.

Many felt that the fast movement of the motorcade made it impossible for the people to have a reasonable glimpse of the Gandhi 'hero'.

"He has never been here before; and now suddenly he zooms in and out of this place ; the least he could do was to say hello a little earlier," observed Siddharth, a young doctor who however did make it a point to stop by to "see what Rahul looks like from close quarters."

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What disillusioned many was his failure to make even a feeble attempt to connect with the people.

Congressmen were however more than content with the road-show and hoped that it would wonders for the candidates locked in the electoral battle for November 19. "How could he have spent more time here? After all he has to cover the entire state and there is very little time left," argued state Congress spokesman Ram Kumar Bhargava.

"I am sure, his visit will make a lot of difference to all of us who are contesting from here", claimed UP Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi.