Lonely Election Campaign – The Hindu

TAs I campaign across the country, I am reminded of events that serve as a reminder of the power of campaigning.

Many years ago, in the middle of an unbearably hot summer, my parents and I were driving on a road on the outskirts of town. There was no one on the road, but we stopped at a red light. The scorching heat of the sun shining through the car windows competed with the breeze of the car’s air conditioning. As we waited impatiently on the deserted road for the light to turn green, a car came and stopped next to ours. We didn’t pay it any attention, but my father happened to look in that direction. He told us that a politician, who was a novice at the time, was sitting in the car next to ours.

As my father greeted him, I glanced over at him. The politician in the back seat of the car returned the greeting with clasped hands, a slight bow, and a warm smile. His security guard was beaming with joy and pride that their benefactor had been recognized by us.

He didn’t look like a politician. He looked like a regular guy in his car who you happen to see at traffic lights, smile at, and smile back at. Who knew he’d one day become prime minister? Where was his car heading that afternoon, on a deserted, dusty road that seemed to lead nowhere? “He’s campaigning,” my father said. No wonder he won with support even in the most remote places.

As the light turned green that summer afternoon and his car passed ours, I noticed that, unlike the other politicians, he wasn’t driving in a motorcade. His car was the only one, stopped at a traffic light on a deserted road under the scorching sun. His early solo campaigning had paid off.

Time will tell who will be successful in their campaign this time, but I will always remember meeting my future Prime Minister on the campaign trail, far away, and how that little encounter helped me realise just how important it is to campaign and reach out to people no matter how far away you are.

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