Major political parties undertake yatras as UP election draws near

Election time is also a Yatra time. All major parties undertake it to improve their prospects. Each one of them sings a different tune. For instance, the ruling party. It highlights its policies and programmes implemented for the benefit of the people. On the other hand, the parties in opposition stress on failures of the ruling party. It is immaterial to them whether the people they are addressing believe the speakers or not. This has become a ritual since the Rath Yatra taken out by senior Bhartiya Janata Party leader L K Advani in September, 26 years ago.

His case was different and the result he achieved is difficult to be achieved by another person too . Time was different. So was mood. All these factors contributed to the success achieved by the party in the state and outside . In the election that followed.the BJP which was struggling to make a mark in Uttar Pradesh tasted victory for the first time. Kalyan made a history and reached a position he might have dreamt but could not be certain of achieving .

The feat was not achieved by any one other than Advani. Nor was it even tried so enthusiastically again by Advani himself but the legacy continues. Yatras are taken out before the polls by different political parties including the BJP even now. It is in this context that the Yatras undertaken by the BJP and other parties before the election in Uttar Pradesh can be understood better. As in 1990, the BJP took the initiative first. The party did not begin any Yatra but backed one taken out by Buddhist monks.

The only exception in this case is the Bahujan Samaj Partry. The one-woman party does not believe in this kind of show and, therefore, has not done anything of the kind. All other major parties do not think likewise. This includes the Congress which has done poorly in the state in the last many years . May be it has made a departure this time to try something different in the hope that it may change the party's fortune.

It is also pinning much hope on two other changes made by the party this year on the eve of the poll. It has brought in former Delhi chief minister Shila Dixit on the forefront and appointed film star-turned politician Raj Babbar as the party's state unit chief, ignoring claims of many state leaders He may not help cover the lost ground but the party has tried to something different for a better showing. party's vice- president is trying equally hard to change the future.

The party has been out of power for a long period of 27 years and it believes that the state has suffered enormously during this period when other parties ruled. So the Yatra undertaken by it was appropriately ( appropriately for the party) called Behal ( bad shape) Yatra. It was followed by a Yatra by Rahul Gandhi which began from Deoria in eastern part of the state. Interestingly, it was the place which was visited at least twice by late Prime Minister and Rahul's grand-mother Indira Gandhi. Of course, the situation was different then. Deoraha Baba or Machan Baba as he was popularly known was alive then and she had come to seek his blessing for the betterment of the party. The year was 1977 when the party was routed in all states of the country.

Whether it was due to him or some other reason but the party performed remarkably well in the subsequent election in 1980. May be for this reason, her son and next Prime Minister Rajiv Ganhi came to meet the Baba too with his wife Sonia.

Rahul was not so lucky not because the Baba is no more but because something unpleasant happened during his visit. The incident, the looting of about 2000 Khats by local people, before his rally was given more space by the newspapers than his speech. The khats were hired for Rahul and some other important party leaders to lie down and have some rest before undertaking the Yatra. In course of the journey which is scheduled to last 20 days he is likely to highlight the " failure" for the Modi government on the farmer's front. The burden of his speech is that the government has done pretty little for the farmers , contrary to its claim.

Not to lag behind, the Samajwadi Party will launch the Yatra from September 13 . Like Advani Rath which had worked wonders, the party will also undertake Rath Yatra which will have chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as the main rider. The Rath will have modern facilities like WiFi. A large car will be converted into a Rath for the Yatra. It will also work as his mini office and help him clear the urgent files. Red and green colour used in the party flag will be also used in the Rath. The party had also undertaken a Rath Yatra in 2012 which , the party believes, had played a role in its victory. Finding it ominous the party will go for it again.

It was his father and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav who had undertaken the Yatra before him in 1989-90 . The Yatra's area was limited to Uttar Pradesh, unlike Advani's. Whatever may be the party's gain it impacted the Congress much. If that was the purpose, this can be described as successfull . The BJP will follow suit. The date is not decided yet but it is likely to begin sometime this month from four corners of the state and cover all the 403 constituencies in 100 days.