The Ides Of March In Uttar Pradesh Election: Superstition Taken Seriously

Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav began his tour of Uttar Pradesh with a rally in Sultanpur in the eastern part of the state. It was a choice that puzzled many - the area will vote only in the fifth of a total of seven phases; it's Western UP where the election will begin. But, say sources close to the Chief Minister, the dreaded vicissitudes of an election are strong influencers. Sultanpur is where he began his campaign five years ago, establishing it as a good luck charm. And astrologers prescribe disha shool, demarcating Tuesday as an unfortunate choice to travel West. Hence, Go East, young man, it was.

Results for this election will be disclosed on March 11 - beware, the Ides of March. And superstition is not taken lightly in Uttar Pradesh's politics. Congress leaders believe that if the state president gets the office white-washed or freshly painted, it's game over in the next election for him or her. At the Lucknow office, party workers reel off the stats: Mahavir Prasad in 1992, ND Tiwari in 1995, Salman Khurshid in 2012 and Rita Bahuguna Joshi - now with the BJP - in 2012.

In the Ballia district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, people are convinced that if a politician pays tribute to freedom fighter Chittu Pandey, who led the Quit India movement in this area, disaster strikes. Indira Gandhi unveiled his statue about six months before she was killed, Rajiv Gandhi garlanded it a few months before he was assassinated, and Zail Singh had a heart attack a few days after he offered flowers at the memorial.

Dalit leader and four-time Chief Minister Mawayati refuses to deviate from off-white outfits or, on happy occasions like her birthday, shades of pink. Though there are murmurs of "lucky colours" among her party, she said, "I just like the colours. They are positive colours. I want society to be resplendent too."

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari bathes with a different-coloured soap each day and then wears an outfit of the same hue. No mix and match. "White on Mondays, green on Wednesdays and white again on Fridays, and if you are wearing a white kurta-pyjama, you can wear a jacket of the preferred colour," he advised.

But the pin-up of all superstition in Uttar Pradesh's politics is that whoever visits Noida, satellite city to Delhi, can write off returning to power. ND Tiwari and Veer Bahadur Singh were voted out within a month of their entering Noida in the late 80s. It is why Mulayam Singh, then Chief Minister, refused to visit the area in 2006 when it was reeling from the discovery of the bones and skulls of little children discovered in a drain in Nithari. In 2002, Rajnath Singh, as Chief Minister, inaugurated a flyover linking Noida and Delhi - but ensured that he stayed on Delhi's side of the border. Mayawati ventured to Noida in 2011 and lost the election the next year to Akhilesh Yadav, who has abjured the city entirely.