New Delhi:
Five days to go for the first phase of polling and all the action is in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress' Didi, aka Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and the BSP's Behenji, aka Mayawati, are the top-billed campaigners out in the field today wooing voters. And Team Anna has jumped in, as promised, to try and undo the best efforts of sundry political parties.
Ms Vadra is sticking close home as yet. She will be touring the Gauriganj Assembly constituency in Sultanpur. Rahul Gandhi's younger sister had said last month that she was open to campaigning beyond the Gandhi bastion of Amethi-Rae Bareli-Sultanpur if her brother, who has scripted the Congress' UP campaign, wanted her to.
Chief Minister Mayawati will take her Bahujan Samaj Party's largely anti-Congress message to Baharaich and Gonda today.
Team Anna members began their anti-corruption campaign in the poll-bound state yesterday. Members of Gandhian Anna Hazare's core team of activists are fanning out asking people to question political leaders on the Lokpal Bill when they come to them seeking votes. Team Anna is out in UP in protest against political parties not following through on their promise that they would pass the Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament late last year.
They have said they will not campaign against particular parties this time; they drew much criticism for pointedly campaigning against the Congress in the Hisar by-election last year. But activist Manish Sisodiya did hit out yesterday at Rahul Gandhi for speaking about changing the picture of the state in five years. "How can people who make such promises be believed," he asked.
Yesterday, Mr Sisodiya and former top cop Kiran Bedi were in Fatehpur exhorting voters to understand the strength of their vote and cast their ballots in favour of honest and responsible candidates.
Mentioning Team Anna's ongoing campaign, Kiran Bedi on Friday tweeted: "On way to Faizabad (Ayodhya) followed by Basti (Eastern UP) for voter awareness. Spirit of assertion and awareness visible!"