Chhattisgarh’s remote villages, green with paddy, are quiet, though the first phase of polling is less than 10 days away. Except in a few urban pockets, there is no election fever; slogan shouting by cadre, large rallies or posters are rare.
In this calm scene, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s mega rallies are major events, notable for not just the presence of a major leader but also the clockwork precision that precedes her arrival.
“The election season has arrived,” declares Paresh Naskar.
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Mr. Naskar, from South 24 Paraganas in West Bengal, is part of a six-man team that sets up the stage of wooden beams and iron poles wherever Ms. Mayawati holds a public meeting.
Traverse the country
Mr. Naskar’s team dovetails with a larger team of 30 — of tailors who drape the stage in metres of blue fabric, the colour of the BSP, sound technicians who manage the public address systems at the venue and security personnel.
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While national leaders usually leave arrangements to local party units, the BSP chief has entrusted the job to a few Lucknow-based contractors. The team — men like Mr. Naskar — traverse the country, literally setting the stage for Ms. Mayawati.
For survival
Mr. Naskar and his friend Gopal Mandal explained that the little over one bigha ( around a third of an acre) of land they own back in Bengal cannot sustain them. “The rest of the year we are dependent on Behenji (Ms. Mayawati),” Mr. Naskar said.
“She has everything sorted. Men to look after sound, stage arrangement or decoration; our boss takes care of the sound system,” said Mahesh Tiwari, a daily wage earner from Lucknow and member of the sound team.
He is dependent on the ₹300 that he gets for a day’s work setting up large horn mikes at meeting venues. When not at work, he waits at home in Lucknow for a call from Raju Srivastava, or Raju ji , his team leader.
“Our company, Sushil Radio and Electric, at Qaisarbagh in Lucknow provides sound systems for Behenji ’s programmes,” Mr. Srivastava said. “Wherever she goes to speak, we reach a day or two ahead and set up the long and short horn mikes.”
Mr. Srivastava’s team transports more than 200 horn mikes, umpteen sound boxes and an assortment of cables and wires in three large mini-trucks, prepared for Ms. Mayawati to be heard across any venue.
At home in his truck with his crew, travelling the country in all weather, the middle-aged Mr Srivastava says he has no complaints as he moves on stage. “Hello…hello…mike testing... Bahujan samaj party ka kya pehchan? Nila jhanda, hathi nishan! ” he shouts to check the audio systems and set the tone for the rally, as his team echoes the party slogan.
Then there is a group of tailors from Chauhan Tent House in Lucknow that decorates the stage with pink and blue fabric.
The master tailor, Ram Bahadur, said they need about 2,000 metres of cloth to cover the stage for each programme.
“Some of the material is wasted but rest is reused for other meetings or at marriages as these are bright colours,” he said.
At the end of day’s work, the whole team — stage hands, tailors and sound arrangers — sets up a large tent to sleep in. “Other than few mosquitoes, rest is fine,” says Ram Bahadur.
Despite the rough conditions and constant travel, the men in the team are happy as the business of “travelling meeting management” provides employment throughout the year.
But why does the BSP chief need her own team from Lucknow to set up things across the country?
While Mr. Srivastava says he has no idea, one of his employees says, “Behenji does not trust anyone…she has too many enemies.”
“Who knows if they make the stage collapse or the mikes fail,” chips in Mahesh Tiwari, while a local BSP activist Rajkumar Lehre nods in agreement.