The Hindu : Last merry-making before the elections

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 08, 2004

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National

Last merry-making before the elections

By Anita Joshua

The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani celebrating Holi in New Delhi on Sunday. - Photo: Anu Pushkarna

NEW DELHI, MARCH 7. Holi today was practically the last chance for the political class to make merry before they start the fight for the coming Lok Sabha polls. And, they used the occasion to the hilt. Be it the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, or the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, each threw open their fortified homes to celebrate the festival.

Extending the magnanimity to the electoral battlefield, Mr. Vajpayee said: "If people want a change in government, then they should by all means bring about such a change; provided it can fulfil the aspirations of the people. This has been our endeavour during the past five years, and we hope that the people's mandate will be with us in the future also.''

Congress leaders celebrating Holi in New Delhi on Sunday. - Photo: Shanker Chakravarty.

Of the view that the elections should be contested amicably and on issues, the Prime Minister in his brief interaction with the media, amid the revelry on the sprawling lawns of his residence, dwelt on the state of the nation today; complete with a new standing crop and overflowing coffers. "The country is at the crossroads, the world has great expectations from India, ... we should bury our differences and work together to build a strong and self-reliant nation.''

Mr. Advani, on the other hand, exuded confidence about the prospects of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the coming elections. "I am confident that the NDA will return to power; so I do not consider this as our last Holi celebration.'' Before participating in the celebrations at his residence, Mr. Advani joined Mr. Vajpayee for breakfast and was among the first to greet the Prime Minister on this occasion. Later, Mr. Vajpayee visited Mr. Advani's house to join the latter's family in the festivities.

Among those present at the Prime Minister's residence were the Union Human Resource Development, Murli Manohar Joshi, the cinestar-turned-Minister, Shatrughan Sinha, and the Bharatiya Janata Party's most recent catch, former cricketer Mohinder Amarnath. The visitors' list at Mr. Advani's residence included Varun Gandhi, son of the late Sanjay Gandhi.

At the residence of Ms. Gandhi, Congress workers made best use of the `Open House' and came out in strength to greet their president who said she would not be playing Holi with either Mr. Vajpayee or Mr. Advani. Besides, a number of Congress Working Committee members, the Delhi Chief Minister, Shiela Dikshit, and a number of members of Parliament went to 10 Race Course Road in the morning to join Ms. Gandhi in the celebrations.

Compared to the celebrations at these three VVIP addresses of the Capital, the Rashtrapati Bhavan witnessed a quiet Holi with the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, choosing to celebrate it with spastic children. And, instead of `gulal' (coloured powder), flower petals were exchanged as the First Citizen mingled with the children; thereby putting into practice his own Holi message to the nation wherein Mr. Kalam spoke about sharing the happiness with the underprivileged.

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