Bad roads, power cuts main poll issues in Bareli, Amethi
Press Trust of India / Rae Bareli & Amethi Feb 12, 2012, 13:42 IST
The 2G spectrum, CWG scams and the Anna Hazare movement may be burning issues at the national level, but it is bad roads, rampant power-cuts and acute shortage of fertilisers that are the main poll issues in these twin pocket-boroughs of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
The Vidhan Sabha constituencies falling under Rae Bareli and Amethi bear the look of any other non-descript semi-urban seat with hardly anything that would make them stand out from the other constituencies of Uttar Pradesh.
Election issues here are as local as they can get.
Matters like 2G spectrum, CWG scam, Lokpal agitation, Ramdev's agitation and other national issues may crop up during discussions among locals, but it appears to have little bearing on the polls as people grapple to make ends meet.
But the locals do not hold local MPs -- Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi or party general secretary Rahul -- responsible for the problems.
Most of the locals feel the Mayawati-led state government is meting out step-motherly treatment to these constituencies and not passing on the Central funds.
They, however, indicate that Sonia and Rahul may get their votes, but not all Congress candidates in the 10 Vidhan Sabha seats are likely to win as local factors are more important.
"We get electricity only from 11 PM to 7 AM here. For the rest of the time you are lucky if there is power," said a tea-shop owner in Tiloi area of Amethi.
Others rue that they have to run around and shell out money for water to irrigate their fields. One farmer said his efforts came to a naught as after much effort he got water for his fields, but it rained the next day during this summer.
Most locals in the rural hinterland are unhappy with the shortage of fertiliser. As demand exceeds the supply, the prices have also shot up.
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