RaGa does a tit-for-tat Roadshow in Varanasi

It was Rahul Gandhi’s answer to Narendra Modi storming Amethi last week. Massive crowds showed up on the streets of Varanasi as Rahul campaigned for Congress’s Lok Sabha candidate Ajay Rai on Saturday morning.
The crowd support in Varanasi proved to be better than any Rahul received during his past campaign meetings in UP. Though Congress detractors insisted that the large turnout was because Rahul’s motorcade passed through Muslim pockets, city residents had poured out onto the streets to watch the Congress leader.
Senior party leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Raj Babbar, Madhusudan Mistry and Mukul Wasnik, accompanied Rahul in the roadshow.
Refusing to let go of the opportunity to land a parting punch, Rahul raked up Snoopgate. He said: “Modiji, please change your poster, say that you will respect women and stop sending the police to tap phones of women in Gujarat. Don’t give them strength, give them some respect.”
Party supporters cheered for Rahul and also spun a slogan for Rai: ‘Kashi Ki Rai, Ajay Rai’.
In a day that saw hectic campaigning, the Congress vice-president started out early. Rahul began his roadshow from Gol Gadda, a part of the city dominated by the weavers’ community, drove through Lauhrabir, Ajay Rai’s pocket borough within Varanasi, and passed through Benia, Goudaulia, Madanpura, Assi Ghat and Lanka before ending at the Benaras Hindu University crossing, where he garlanded a statue of Madan Mohan Malviya.
Since the administration had asked Congress to conclude the roadshow by 11am — chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was to start his thereafter — there was talk that Rahul may have to suspend his yatra midway.
However, the Congress vicepresident managed to cover the entire 11.5-km distance in the scorching sun. The streets were flooded with Congress flags and caps and special welcomes planned for him. As bands drummed up support for Rahul and Rai, women came out of homes to perform aarti while the elderly and the young showered them with rose petals.
A welcome gesture that stood out was Ustad Bismillah Khan’s family playing ‘Raghupati raghav raja ram’ on the shehnai as the motorcade passed.