Tulsi faces a tough fight

MANDATE 2004/ Cong to gain from Shoaib Iqbal's decision to opt out from Chandni Chowk seat

Television star and the BJP candidate from the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency, Smriti Iraani, is beginning to realise that politics unlike soap operas do not follow a tried and tested script.

Iraani, who plays the role of Tulsi Virani in the popular soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, saw her electoral prospects take a hit after Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Shoaib Iqbal withdrew from the race for the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat in favour of Congress' Kapil Sibal.

Although Iqbal has not won either of the two Lok Sabha polls he has contested till date, he represents the most decisive factor for both the BJP and Congress in this seat.

In a constituency almost evenly divided between Muslims (around 28.3% of the total electorate) and the Vaish trading community (around 26 %), he was expected to split the Muslim vote and thus ensure the victory of the BJP candidate.

According to Iqbal, his decision not to contest elections this time had nothing to do with any animosity towards Iraani.

"I don't feel any love for Vijay Goel (who won the last two times that Iqbal also contested), nor do I have anything against Smriti Iraani. I was asked by my Muslim voters not to divide the secular votes,'' he said.

Iqbal polled 68,000 votes in the 1996 elections and 57,000 votes in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, a substantial number considering the fact that the total size of the electorate here is just 3,78,000 voters.

According to sources in the Delhi BJP, Iqbal's move has upset all calculations in the area.

"We thought we had sewn up the women's votes anyway, and that Iqbal would take care of the consolidated Muslim votes,'' said a senior office bearer of the party.

Officially, of course, the party is projecting a confident face.

"Smriti will romp home, already, there is a strong wave even among Muslim women in her favour,'' said Delhi BJP president Dr Harshvardhan.

However Iqbal contests this claim. "Our women are not that easily swayed, we have always been tactical voters,'' he adds.

A quick look at the Assembly results also show that Iraani is in for the fight of her life. The Congress has won all but one of the four Assembly seats in the constituency.

The man who will gain most from Iraani's defeat is the sitting MP from the constituency, Vijay Goel. Goel voluntarily moved to the neighbouring Delhi Sadar constituency, after Madan Lal Khurana was packed off to Rajasthan as governor.

He is supposed to have been the main force behind Iraani's candidature. He had, according to sources, also promised her that Iqbal would not withdraw from the race. He has since been too busy with his own campaign to bother much with Chandni Chowk.

"Goel has an eye on the imminent delimitation of seats when Sadar and Chandni Chowk will be merged. It will then be a Vaish stronghold, he does not want any other claimant to the seat,'' said a highly-placed source in the BJP. This, in plain English, means that Goel would not shed too many tears if Iraani were to lose.

Whatever the case, Iraani has a tough battle on her hands, perhaps now is the time to take lessons from the steel like Tulsi Virani than be Smriti Iraani. After all, Kyunki Tulsi bhi Kabhi Smriti Thi.