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Magazine
FIRST TIMERS
On a difficult wicket
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It's an uphill task if you are an independent, in the political fray for the first time.
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Optimistic: Azharuddin
A decade after he was denied a century of Test matches thanks to the infamous match fixing scandal, Mohammed Azharuddin, quite a poet at the crease with a bat in hand, is trying to learn the ABC of politics. He has an uphill task too: the Congress has not done well in Moradabad for almost two decades and the party is all but a spent force in U.P.
Azhar, though, prefers to see the affairs in a different light. “I identify with the Congress because it is a secular party and the only party with an all-India presence. Reviving Congress in the State is a challenge. We will make it number one again. Yes, I am a shade nervous but it is good to be nervous. I was nervous before my first Test match against England. I was nervous before every innings. I am nervous now too. Politics is a new beginning.”
After the few well thought-out lines, Azhar lapses into the rehearsed. “I speak extempore. The other day when I had my first rally in Moradabad the reception was tremendous. I never got anything like that even after my first three Test hundreds. It was overwhelming to realise that people came in thousands to see me, hear me. And this 10 years after I stopped playing.”
Prioritising issues
But the turn-out at the rally does not always transform into votes. Azhar, though, has his plans chalked out for the development of Moradabad. “Health is the most important. Then education and sports. I have to work for the downtrodden; I have to make sure their lifestyle undergoes a significant shift because of me. Power is a problem here. So many brassware factories are closing down due to international recession. I will have to concentrate on the infrastructure. Roads, schools, hospitals, employment avenues.”
That is easier said than done. But Azhar will have none of it. “From this platform it will be my duty to deliver. If I am not able to do something for the people who turned out for me, it will be a big shame. Progress cannot be elitist. We cannot have that urban-rural divide. I know the challenges ahead but you have to start somewhere. May be, it is destiny but I feel I am at the right place.”
The collar is still up. The signature drawl in tact too. All that is needed is a political expression for destiny’s child.
ZIYA US SALAM
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Against odds
Leap of faith: Rahul Deshmukh
Rahul Deshmukh is a 34-year-old architect specialising in town planning with a film to his credit in Marathi and he is contesting as an independent from Nagpur. What made him take the leap of faith to politics? He says he decided to get into movies first to address social issues. As he says, “Sensible, artistic and realistic cinema is my passion. When I decided to produce a film with a friend, it was but natural for me to address some socio-politico-economic issues through it. ‘Aawhan’ portrays the hard life of the migrant labourers and the crimes committed by established politicians; it also shows the transformation happening in a group of a few urban, affluent youth when they are exposed to such injustice.”
Unfair rules
How tough is it fighting established power centres as an individual? He says more than anything else, it is the rules imposed by the Election Commission which makes it tough for independents to put up a credible fight. It “automatically eliminates the chances of ‘independent candidates without money and muscle power’ being elected. The time period of just 12 days to campaign is absolutely ridiculous for those who cannot hire large mobs to do the canvassing or publish big advertisements. Simple ways of campaigning like distributing handbills are mostly illegal, thereby curbing the right of honest people to voice their opinion and reach out to the masses with their limited resources. And the Media is not at all restrained from giving undue publicity to certain candidates, which is absolutely unethical and detrimental to fair elections. A level playing field does not exist. And the established political parties would do nothing to change it as it suits their purpose. The blatant violation of election code of conduct and huge amount of money being pumped is absolutely ignored by the observers as well as the media.”
He says there are immense problems facing our country and the established politicians are either incapable, corrupt or too self-interested to tackle them, that change is possible only when the educated youth take charge of governance. And their reluctance to do so troubles him. “The cynicism about politics and politicians among the educated is not improving the situation. If they don’t get involved in governance, they would end up being governed by people with lesser ability and dubious intentions, by criminals and the corrupt.” Do we care enough?
SUBASH JEYAN
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Son of the soil
Expect a bouncer or two: Chetan Sharma.
More than a decade after he bowled his last ball for India, Chetan Sharma has swapped his white flannels for kurta-pyjama. He has done his homework though. “I have been in Faridabad for 26 years. And things have gone from bad to worse. We keep saying it is the time of the youth. But when elections come around, we shy away.”
That is not bad for a guy just getting ready to contest elections on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket. “I like the ideology of the party. I have always regarded Kapil Dev as my guru on the cricket field. I feel Mayawati is Kapil Dev-II in my life. In Haryana the BSP is bringing about a social engineering. Everybody is coming together. Behenji has brought about ultimate equality in society: Brahmin, Dalit, Musalman sab ek saath. ”
Talking of farmers, Chetan gets not just eloquent but passionate too. “In Haryana so much farmers’ land has been acquired for a pittance. Nobody realises what these farmers dispossessed of their land will do after five years when the money is finished. There are more malls in Faridabad than buyers. ”
There has been tremendous turn-out at his meetings. So, is he confident of his victory? “I have seen enough of life not to take anything for granted. I just hope in this era of education people make a well informed choice.”
ZIYA US SALAM
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