Battling two heavyweights in her debut in the political arena, Misa Bharti is banking on hi-tech poll strategies and family support in her bid to salvage the pride of her father RJD supremo Lalu Yadav, who lost the Patliputra seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
39-year-old Misa, an MBBS, is fighting from this seat against two seasoned politicians once considered her father's very close aides- ex-RJD veteran and now BJP candidate Ram Kripal Yadav and sitting MP Ranjan Prasad Yadav of JD(U).
Significantly, Ranjan defeated Lalu in 2009 by a margin of over 23,000 votes here. Apart from the vote bank of her father, who cannot contest polls due to conviction in a fodder scam case, Misa is relying on her husband's management skills for her electoral debut in this seat nestled along the banks of river Ganga.
Being a computer engineer and management graduate, Misa's husband Shailesh Kumar is giving hi-tech support to her election campaign. Patliputra goes to polls on April 17. "Naturally his experience is coming handy. We are doing our campaign in a more planned way on the basis of new hi-tech analysis," Misa told PTI.
Asked if the election battle has become a prestige issue for her father, she, however, replied in the negative.
"Aisa nahi hai (It's not like that). It is his seat where he lost last elections. For him, all the 40 seats of Bihar are prestige issue including Patliputra. He is the national president of the party and I am his daughter so it is his duty also to help his daughter in her electoral debut," she said.
Despite his hectic campaign schedule, Lalu- who is the sole star campaigner of his party- visited the constituency over 20 times in past 10 days to mobilise support for Misa. While Misa has always been active during her parents' election campaigns, she admits that it is different ball game altogether to seek votes for herself.
"It is a different experience. You have to convince people about yourself when you are seeking their votes. You have to spend a lot of time with them," she said. Asked about her equation with her rival Ramkripal Yadav, who left RJD after he was denied ticket from here, she said that he will always remain her "chacha".
"I have tried but could not speak with him. He will remain my chacha. Personal relations will always be there despite political rivalry," she added. For her husband, this election is like launching a new product or brand and Shailesh is using all his corporate experience to ensure she comes out with flying colours.
"She is a great leader and I am a good manager so this combo is killer. She has the charisma, name and charm to connect with people but when it comes to translate that into votes, my work begins," he said. Shailesh, an MBA and computer engineer, has professional experience working for ICICI Bank and Infosys.
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