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Campaign Trail/Madhuri V Krishnan

Sonia continues her hardsell, this time in Kolar

White is an obsession with the ubiquitous Congresswallah. Kurta- pyjamas, safari suits, chappals, sandals, tablecloths, topis -- and even the chic, small pandal erected at Kolar -- 60 km away from Bangalore -- for their star campaigner Sonia Gandhi, is white with a maroon frill.

On a breezy, cloudy day, the 7-seater Pawan Hans helicopter carrying Sonia, Rahul Gandhi, her personal assistant V George and few others, flies past a crowd of approximately 25,000 who cheer at its sight, to land 7 km from the location. A speedy ride of 10 minutes from there and she is feverishly waving to the crowds who are atop roofs and squatting on stairs around the Kanteerava stadium, filled with tiny plastic tricolour flags tied on barricades.

While the 1,000-strong Kolar Special Police look on, the crowds hold up posters and clap vigorously. Rahul Gandhi, smiling from ear to ear looks a kattr (slang to mean pucca) Kashmiri, fair and dimpled, a replica of his father, in a white kurta-pyjama. He is wildly cheered at when a party member stands to speak to him long after garlanding him; the crowds don't stop till he settles down next to his mother on the highly elevated dais.

A brown folder is handed to her. Sharp at 0935 hours, the lady, wearing a cotton maroon sari sans bindi, rises to speak in her thick Italian accent which one has got quite familiar with.

Succinctly worded, crisply edited, her speech has specific references to Rajiv Gandhi's achievements, particularly towards emancipation of women, a subject ignored by other party leaders.

"Under Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress government offered many schemes for the upliftment of minorities, the scheduled castes and tribes. He worked hard to give you the opportunity to take power in your own hands by lowering the voting age from 21 years to 18 years, and for making Panchayat Raj a reality.

"He wanted women from the backward class to have 33 per cent reservation in panchayat raj -- this was only the beginning."

Despite the breeze that constantly jostles her hair, she takes a jibe at those who have joined hands with the BJP, asking the people not to get misled by "people joining hands with communal forces."

Without raising any controversial issue or apologising for any past event, she derides the current political state in the country and says: "The political situation in India is becoming unbearable today. We are fed up of politics in the country and the lack of honesty; no one can get anything done without begging or bribing, and the poor have nobody to turn to for solving their problems."

After which she asks a rhetoric question about the intention of a government coming together only for political ends which will be doomed from the start and which will not have any time to create jobs, empower women because of which our youth go astray by violence and terrorism. "This economic chaos leads to instability which leads to rising prices and people becoming vulnerable to political parties's promises who are waiting to seek power.

"I want you to guard against these forces that divide us," she appeals, "and the people of Karnataka have shown that they can live in harmony with each other. I am sure you will reject these divisive forces and not get drawn into empty fights of caste and religion and instead fight against the real problems, that of poverty, unemployment, high prices, illiteracy of women and the poor."

An emotional chord is struck when Sonia speaksabout travelling to all corners of India with her husband. "I understood the dreams and hopes of the people. It was the same country that Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi shed their blood for, and by being here with me today you are telling me you recognise their sacrifice. Belonging to that family, this is the bond I have with you.

"It's a bond not understood by people who seek to divide it for selfish reasons. These people have no bond with our countrymen except that of exploitation and ambition. I am here to fight them," she says dramatically.

While the crowds applaud, party workers look around the stadia happily. "Sitaram Kesri couldn't have made such an impact," says V Shankar, the Congress spokesperson, and adds: "Who wants him anyway? All the party workers told him not to attend the rallies, she is the perfect leader for us."

She waves again, with Rahul, systematically this time looking all around the stadium. Before she readies to leave, Dharam Singh reminds her to put in a word for the Congress candidates from the region.

The dispersing, jostling crowds animatedly discuss the event. While German scribe Bernard Lisbeium is unimpressed with Sonia. "She's too wooden, too boring and couldn't make any contact with the people," Vivekananda, a lecturer, is furious. "These poor innocent people, they will all vote for this foreigner. Not me. She has no political experience and she will be used by others to get power for themselves. We truly are a tolerant and gullible lot."

Young boys Harish and Nimesh, clearly inducted in the Congress Way, scream, "Of course, we will vote for Congress, what haven't they done for us? They have done everything, we are where we are because of them."

The crowds surge towards the podium to catch a last glimpse of Sonia but are caught in the dust raised by her Ambassador which races back to the helicopter to take her to Mandya, followed by Mangalore, Chickmagalur and a final stop in Goa.

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