VK Singh : A soldier goes electioneering

It is difficult to let go the habits ofa lifetime. And General (retired) VK Singh faces just the sort ofdilemma given that the former army chief has gone from commanding anarmy of 1.3 million to pleading with an electorate of 20 lakh—a large chunk of whom havenever even heardof him.

The 62-year-old BJP candidate for the Ghaziabad Parliamentary constituency, is going by the rule book toensure a victory for the party. But shaking hands with all and sundryand listening patiently to people's constant complaints are clearlynot among the general's best traits. Fortunately, for him, Ghaziabadis a strong BJP seat; except for in 2004, the seat has been won byBJP candidates since 1991. Besides, many in the constituency areclear that they want to vote for the party's prime ministerialnominee Narendra Modi.

"Humhe nahi pata ki General kaunhai. Hum to sirf Modi ko vote denge (We don'tknow who the General is. We will only vote for Modi)," said BimlaTyagi of Kakda village in Ghaziabad.

The 62-year-old Singh has been stayingin BJP national president Rajnath Singh's Ghaziabad home, spendingmore than 15 hours every day in the field to woo voters. His plan isto first reach out to voters in the rural areas before canvassing inthe city.

He starts the day at 6.30am,interacting with local residents and morning walkers at a park inKavi Nagar Colony. Two hours later, Singh visits the party office toplan the rest of the day. Even though the campaign schedule isprepared by the party's campaign committee, Singh approves the plan.

From the office, his cavalcade ofalmost a dozen cars and SUVs proceeds to Muradnagar town, a remotecorner of the Ghaziabad constituency, where he is scheduled toinaugurate a BJP office. Surrounded by enthusiastic supporters andBJP workers, Singh, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, saysthat although he is from Haryana, he is willing to stay in Ghaziabad.Pitching his honest and spotless career during service, Singh says:"People are tired of the corrupt UPA government and it is high timefor a change. And only a nationalist party like the BJP, under theable leadership of Narendra Modi, can provide a good and transparentgovernance."

Muradnagar's villagers are unhappy withtheir last MP Rajnath, who reportedly never visited after winning theelection, says Om Prakash, a dalit farmer of Garhi village inMuradnagar. It is therefore not surprising that a villager asks Singhif he will return to to the village after winning. The General iscaught off guard. "During my army days, I considered everyex-servicemen as my family. Similarly, I will treat you also as myfamily member," he manages to reply.

Over the course of the day, Singhvisits 10 villages and addressing 12 public meetings. He isrelentless in his approach but his mannerism is stiff. He appearsdefensive when asking people to vote for him.

When locals offer him food, the Generalrefuses, preferring to eat fruits for lunch. Similarly, he isunconformable shaking hands with villagers and waving out inacknowledgment as politicians usually do. When he addresses agathering, the tone is less that of a politician and more of an armycommander's, especially when he ends his speeches with the words:"Koi shak ya sawal?"

By the time Singh ends his day, it is10pm. The last stop, before he retires for the night, is always theBJP party office, where he does a post-mortem of the day'scampaigning — much like a war general would in preparation for thenext day's battle.

"Although General Singh is anoutsider and a first-time candidate, I must say, he is making sincereefforts in reaching out to every voter," says Arvind Bhartiya,BJP's district president, who is responsible for Singh's campaign.

BOX:The odds are even
BJP bastion Ghaziabad's 20 lakh voters are split between four lakhMuslims, an equal number of Dalits, about 2.6 lakh Vaishyas and 2.5lakh Rajputs.
Singh's opponents are BSP's Mukul Upadhyay, Congress' Raj Babbar andAam Aadmi Party's Shazia Ilmi.
Upadhyay poses the biggest threat as he is likely to get the Dalit and Brahmin votes.
For Singh, a Rajput, the up sideis that 230 villages in the constituency are Rajput dominated. That and the presence of nearly one lakh ex-servicemen in Ghaziabadwill work to the BJP's advantage.