‘Haar nahi manunga, raar nayi thanunga; kaal ke kapaal pe likhta mitata hoon, geet naya gaata hoon (I will not give up, I will blaze new trails; I write on the forehead of time, I sing a new song every time).” These iconic lines of his firebrand poem perhaps best define Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tryst with Lucknow.Perhaps it was this relentless and unbending spirit that helped him win the Lucknow seat for five consecutive terms - the very seat that had once denied him entry to Parliament on two previous occasions. For Vajpayee, the road to the PM's office went through Lucknow. Not surprisingly, it became his 'Karmabhoomi' until his retirement from politics. Even 20 years after he contested and won from Lucknow, the aajat-shatru (the one without enemies) of Indian politics is all-pervasive in elections.
Be it Lalji Tandon returning with Vajapyee's 'khadau' (slippers) before contesting from Lucknow in 2009 to Rajnath Singh not missing a moment to talk about his enduring legacy that started and ended with Lucknow, political analysts say that no political speech is complete without invoking Atal's name.
VAJPAYEE'S ELECTORAL JOURNEY IN LUCKNOWVajpayee's initial encounter with Lucknow did not bode well for him electorally. While he was making positive strides in forging new bonds and amassing a support base, he failed to pose any significant challenge to Congress' Sheorajvati Nehru and finished third in the 1955 bypoll. He had then contested on Jana Sangh ticket.
In 1957, Jana Sangh again fielded Vajpayee. This time from three seats-Lucknow, Balrampur, and Mathura. While he won from Balrampur, he finished runner-up in Lucknow with over 33% vote share and lost his deposit in Mathura. Five years later, Vajpayee again tried his luck in Lucknow and managed to increase his vote share to over 37%. But he failed to win the seat and was declared runner-up. This time he lost from Balrampur, too, by 2,000 votes. He, however, reclaimed Balrampur in 1967.
Thereafter, he went on to contest and win from different Lok Sabha seats such as Delhi and Gwalior until he lost the latter to Congress' Madhav Rao Scindia in the 1984 elections.
It was in 1991 when Vajpayee again turned to Lucknow. LK Advani's Ramjanmabhoomi movement had bolstered the prospects of the saffron camp in the Hindi heartland. Besides, his personal credibility among the new aspirational class also added to his advantage. He came to the city with a clarion call: "Lucknow is my home so I am back again here and this time you have to make me an MP from here."
Lucknow didn't disappoint him this time. Vajpayee secured nearly 51% votes and Congress' Ranjeet Singh was no match and ended up a distant second with just 20% votes. And thus began the invincible Vajpayee era in Lucknow. He was elected MP from the seat for five consecutive times-a feat no other political leader has achieved to date. In 1996, Vajpayee again won with a thumping majority and went on to become the PM.
During Vajpayee's tumultuous years, from 1996 to 1999, in Delhi trying to stitch a majority govt, Lucknow stood behind the Gandhian-socialist like a rock. Parliament was dissolved twice and three elections were held in less than three years. Each time Lucknow sent Vajpayee to Parliament with a thumping majority and played a critical role in making him the first non-Congress PM to last full term in office. Seeing Vajpayee's formidable hold on Lucknow, many opposition tried to field high-profile and celebrity candidates like filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, actor Raj Babbar, and
Karan Singh, but none came close to challenging Vajpayee.
A CONNECTION BEYOND REALM OF POLITICSVajpayee's Lucknow connection extended beyond the realms of politics. Be it his early days in student politics or later as a seasoned statesman, several veterans in the city remember him for his personal connect and liberal values.
"His simplicity in clothing, words, and dealing with the people at large earned him many admirers across the political lines. He listened to their people and strived to forge amicable bonds. Nobody ever expected him to make disparaging remarks even against his staunch critics,"
pointed out an old timer and sociologist, Akhilesh Kumar.
From stormy political discussions at his home in Aminabad's 'Kalantri Niwas' to culinary retreats and poetic rendezvous, Lucknow remained the nerve centre of his personal and professional life. His impression over the literary circle in the city was so deep that in 2004 several poets came together to campaign for him.
He entered Parliament when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister and worked with the majority of current lot of politicians, many of whom have now turned adversaries of the BJP. Political analysts attest that he was a man of open mind and progressive ideas; the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics (as put by former PM Manmohan Singh) who commanded admiration even from his principal opponents for the sheer show of grace, decency, and benevolence-virtues that are exceedingly drying up in the political landscape of recent times.
"He was unabashedly honest in words and deeds. He was open about his relationships and personal choices and didn't have double standards. He practised the politics of morality. He had his weaknesses but never did he opt for ignoble means to grab power. He was a kind and amiable man who was never shy of admitting his shortcomings or learning from his mistakes," said city-based political observer Anand Vardhan Singh
The unofficial curtain drew on his political career when the party faced a rude awakening after its grandiose India Shining campaign failed to fetch Vajpayee another term in the Prime Minister's office in 2004.
"I couldn't sense the mood of the people in 1957 when I was young, I couldn't do it now," with this Vajpayee accepted his fate, displaying a venerable magnanimity in the most devastating defeat of his political life. Although he served the full term as the Lucknow MP to pay a final homage to the city that had seen the rise and fall of a poet and statesman, he hung his boots and never returned to the political arena again. But his legacy endures and keeps reaping juicy dividends to the saffron party.
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