Braving rains to see Indira Gandhi’s grandson

The mahapanchayat was nothing short of a fair or an exhibition with people from different sections of the community descending on the venue.

For the past three days, Aligarh has experienced heavy rains and it had sent organizers in a tizzy with hundreds of labourers working overtime to cover pools of water with mud. Their worst fears came true on Saturday morning when strong rains lashed the venue.

Rahul flight had not been able to take off from Delhi due to bad weather but he arrived in just the nick of time as people started losing patience.

“I have just come to see Rahul Gandhi because I have seen his grandmother Indiraji,” said Hariprasad, a farmer from Bulandshahar. He, however, was undecided on his support for the Congress.

People raised slogans like jo hamara karz maaf karega, wahi UP pe raaj karega (The one who will waive our loan will rule over UP).

Some climbed on poles to see the young Congress leader. There were some who reached a new level of sycophancy as they cheered: “Jai Bharat, Jai Hind, Jai Sonia, Jai Rahul.” But there was no Jai Kisaan (farmers), for whom the whole programme was actually organized.

The local police had provided tight security initially but later they went missing. Coupled with poor organization of the programme — with no chairs and wet mud all over in the hot and humid weather — it really tested everyone’s endurance.