Murli Manohar Joshi’s extra baggage is the ‘outsider’ tag

Kanpur: He came in from the front door, but could not leave the ‘outsider’ tag behind. BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi is facing rough weather in Kanpur. Pitted against Union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, the former BJP president is finding it difficult to make his candidature acceptable to the local people.

“He went from Allahabad to Varanasi and now to Kanpur. What is the guarantee that he will not walk to another constituency in the next elections? This question is troubling the people and his supporters have no answer,” says Akash Awasthi, a local journalist.

Mr Jaiswal, apparently, is confident on this score and says, “I am a local person and I can always be seen in Kanpur on weekends. Peo-ple are free to walk into my house any time of the day. I have done my best for the constituency but some projects have been delayed by the not-so-friendly government in the state. People know me, love me and that is my biggest strength.”

Dr Joshi, according to sources, is facing trouble from party cadres too. Some of the party workers are simply staying at home while others are over-confident that “big leaders never lose elections and so there is no point in making an extra effort.”

Though the Kanpur battle is mainly between Mr Jaiswal and Mr Joshi, another emerging key player is Dr Mahmud Hussain Rehmani of the AAP.

Dr Rehmani is a popular local doctor, known to provide free treatment to patients and his support base has been growing ever since his candidature was announced.

Kanpur, as a city, reflects the despondency that rules the minds of the people. The textile mills that once gave Kanpur the title of “Manchester of the East” died one by one in the Nineties. The city has learnt to live without hope and yet hope for the best.