LUCKNOW: Geeta Devi, who lives with her lower-income group family in a two-room rented house in a narrow lane of Udaiganj, was perplexed when she opened doors and found a man clad in white khadi kurta pyjama with blue sadri standing with folded hands.
Even before the middle-aged home maker could react, the man introduced himself as Anil Pandey, BSP candidate from Lucknow Cantonment and touched her feet to seek blessings, leaving her pleasantly surprised.
An elated Geeta Devi immediately called all her family members for a small interaction with Behenji's (Mayawati) candidate in which they apprised Pandey about various problems of the locality. Pandey assures them if elected he would resolve all the problems in a planned manner by appointing two representatives - a man and a woman - in each ward of his constituency to address their problems. .
Pandey is banking mainly on door-to-door campaign without any pomp and show. He walks into a locality with supporters chanting 'Mar mohariya taan ke, hathi ke nishan pe' (press the button with elephant symbol in EVM) and 'Cantt me itihaas banana hai, Basapa ko jitna hai' (This time we will make history by winning Lucknow Cantonment) and moves from one house to another, interacting with people, inquiring about their problems and offering solutions.
Associated with the BSP for 16 years, Pandey is contesting elections for the first time. One of his promises which attracts the attention of youths in Alambagh area is if elected he will use his MLA fund for running free coaching institutes in every ward for youngsters preparing for competitive examinations.
He assures people that he will get a multi-speciality hospital constructed in the constituency and reminds them about development done during Mayawati regime in 2007-12. Redressal of spiraling inflation is another promise through which he tries to impress people.
