NEWS
ANALYSIS
SPECIALS
INTERVIEW
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
ISSUES
GALLERY
MANIFESTOS
INDIA SPEAKS!
COUNTDOWN
CHAT
PREVIOUS RESULTS
SCHEDULE
DISCUSSION GROUP

The Rediff Election Interview/Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

'Congress should be happy if it manages to win Amethi'

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who won the Rampur Lok Sabha seat in 1998 by a slender margin, faces stiff competition this time from Congress candidate Begum Noor Bano.

Naqvi and the Bharatiya Janata Party have worked vigorously to woo voters. All the big names in the party -- right from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Sahib Singh Verma -- have visited Rampur and held rallies in Naqvi's support. Onkar Singh, he promised he would speak to rediff.com after winning the election.

Begum Noor Bano says you are behaving like a rat running for cover.

I don't know what makes her use such foul language. I am quite confident of victory.

The Congress says you are a sarkari Muslim.

I don't buy the Congress theory of secularism. I am not ashamed of being a BJP candidate. The Congress can say anything about me... it doesn't matter. The BJP is the only party which can provide stability to the country.

Are you so scared of a defeat that you have virtually called every major leader of your party and its allies to campaign for you?

It's got nothing to do with the fear of losing. Yes, Vajpayeeji, Kalyan Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Sahib Singh Verma, Rajnath Singh, Parkash Singh Badal and Maneka Gandhi have all canvassed for me. In elections we cannot take a chance. You got to make a sustained effort...rest is up to Him. But if I have called important leaders to work for me, so has the Congress. Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Dilip Kumar, Ashok Gehlot have all addressed rallies in Rampur.

The last time you won by a slender margin. Is that the reason why you don't want to take a chance this time?

Last time I was over confident. We trailed behind the BSP by 20,000 votes in Thakur Dwara. But this time we are not overlooking any of the critical areas of my constituency. My grassroots workers are going from village to village to enlist support in my favour.

Your Congress rival thinks she has already won the battle. What do you have to say?

She will get the answer once counting is over. The Congress is on its death-bed. The party, which had failed to win a single seat in UP in the last election, should be happy if it manages to win Amethi They are not going to win any other seat in Uttar Pradesh.

What are the issues in Rampur?

The issues here are no different from those elsewhere. Atal Bihari Vajpayee's charisma is one factor that is working across the country. The National Democratic Alliance will get more than 320 seats and Atal Bihari Vajpayee will head the new government. We have won the battle against Pakistan in Kargil. We have made India a nuclear power. During our term in office there have been no riots. All this has created a positive image of the party.

People here allege that you neglected the constituency and no development work was carried out during your tenure.

This is not true at all. I have been visiting my constituency regularly, I have been in touch with my constituents. Thirteen months is too short a time to take up any meaningful development work. However, roads have been constructed and villages have been given electricity connections. Farmers got the highest price for their produce during our term in office. I am going to hasten the pace of development once the new government takes over.

Are you so sure of your victory?

My victory in Rampur is a foregone conclusion. It is only a question of the margin now. Begum Noor Bano's contest is now with the Bahujan Samaj Party for the second place. Meet me at my home on October 7 in New Delhi and I will offer you sweets to celebrate my victory.

The Rediff Election Interviews

Tell us what you think of this interview