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It sounds like a Bollywood potboiler

It may be that Mulayam Singh Yadav remembers his days as a street wrestler, but it is Bollywoodese that he chooses to express his emotions.

"Agar yahan kisi prakar ki garbar hui to hum bata dete hain ki yahan lashen bichch jayengee (If there is the slightest trouble here, I tell you I'll line this place with corpses)," he reportedly said at one of the rallies the Samajwadi Party has organised in the run-up to the February 17 election.

After the heat of the moment, Mulayam denied having made the statement. But independent eyewitnesses affirm that he did make such a remark.

But his son, Australia educated environment engineer-turned-Lok Sabha aspirant from the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, perhaps being a little more mature than the father, and the woman contestant of Loktantrik Congress Party, are averse to making such coarse threats.

But LCP chief Naresh Agarwal, in a misplaced attempt at machismo, went beyond Mulayam when he responded to the threats:

"Yadi hamare party karyakarta to kisi ne aankhen dikhane ki koshish kari, to main uski aankhen phod daloonga; aur yadi kisi ne hamare karyakarta ke upar haath uthaya, to main uske haath kaat daloonga" (if anyone dares eye my party workers, I will gouge out his eyes; and if anyone raises a hand against them, I will chop it off).

The Bahujan Samaj Party nominee, Akbar Ahmad 'Dumpy', never one called on when delicacy and tact were required, announced, " Is poore desh mein abhi tak sirf do hi asli goonge huye hain -- ek Sanjay Gandhi (former Youth Congress chief and Indira Gandhi's son) aur doosra mein; yeh teesra goonda, Mulayam kahan se aa gaya" (There have been only two goons in this country -- one was Sanjay Gandhi and the other myself; where has this third goon, Mulayam, emerge from?)

But BSP leader and former UP chief minister Mayawati was unnaturally sober this time, except when discussing Mulayam Singh and Kalyan Singh, leader of the Rashtriya Kranti Party.

She has this to say about Kalyan Singh's nominee, Shaitan Singh Shakya: "Kalyan Singh's man in the fray is very aptly called shaitan (devil); which conveys what Kalyan Singh is up to." Remarkably tame still.

Kalyan Singh also hurls invective, but most of them too are directed at the BJP and the SP.

But his former associate-turned-foe, sadhu-turned-politician Sakshi Maharaj, who was doing hectic campaigning for Mulayam's son, didn't pull any punches.

"I do not know what has happened to Kalyan ; I left the BJP because of him and he has the cheek to attack me. I'd advise Kalyan Singh to control his tongue, otherwise he will have to pay a heavy price," he was heard telling gatherings. And adds, "The day I so wish it, Kalyan will be a nobody, even in his hometown, Aligarh."

All these threats flying about has increased tension in the area and the state government is taking no chances.

"Additional police deployments have been done in Kannauj in view of the prevailing situation", a state government spokesperson said.

The Election Commission too has ordered a very strict vigil on polling day, February 17. Video cameras have been pressed into service to capture any kind of violation of the election code of conduct. Movement of vehicles has also been restricted and orders have been issued for strict checks of vehicles coming from outside the state.

"When these political heavyweights have been using such unparliamentary language, you can well imagine the lengths to which they could go to ensure a victory," one official said.

Assembly Election 2000

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