Congressmen in Kanpur are banking on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ‘lucky' connection with the decaying industrial metropolis to end the party's 22-year drought in Uttar Pradesh. They say, with conviction, that whenever the Prime Minister launched his election campaign from Kanpur it has proved lucky for the Congress. In 2004, Dr. Singh hit the campaign trail from the city, and the Congress formed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre and he became the Prime Minister. The party enthusiasts point out that in 2009, Dr. Singh again launched his campaign in U.P. from Kanpur and the Congress was returned to power at the Centre and he was again chosen the Prime Minister. Congressmen are expecting a similar performance in the Assembly polls now that the Prime Minister kicked off his election campaign in U.P. from Kanpur last week. What the Congress loyalists seem to be forgetting is that only 177 Assembly seats, including those in Kanpur district, will be voting in the fifth, sixth and seventh phase of the polls, and that elections are already over in 226 seats.
