A unique train journey

Desaraju Surya
Vijayawada: Last week I was on a train journey – a journey of a different kind.
I was one of the passengers accompanying Lok Satta Party president N Jayaprakash Narayan – as part of my journalistic duty -- on board a special compartment attached to the Krishna Express bound for Tirupati.
Narayan, a former Indian Administrative Service officer who quit his job after having served as a secretary to the then Chief Minister N T Rama Rao, chose to take the rail road for a novel election campaign for his party in the run up to the April elections in Andhra Pradesh.
It was a simple campaign planned by a simple man that Narayan is. There were no frills, no hungama whatsoever and those who accompanied him were disciplined. By any count, the trip was a grand success and Narayan has certainly set an example for others to follow.
Empowering the youth by creating jobs and enforcing “new politics for the new generation” is the mantra that Lok Satta Party is following to attract the voters.
The party, founded two years ago by Jayaprakash Narayan, promises to create 50 lakh jobs by developing at least 1000 satellite towns across the state at a staggering cost of Rs 40,000 crore.
To take this slogan to the people, he embarked on this 530-km train journey from Secunderabad to Nellore, addressing whistle-stop meetings at important railway stations en route. A specially-hired second class bogie was attached to the Tirupati-bound Krishna Express for Narayan’s yatra, which he undertook following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and former US President Franklin D Roosevelt.
“Satellite towns will be developed in every district depending on its size. At least two lakh jobs will be created in these satellite towns so that youth need not migrate to towns and cities in search of livelihood. Our emphasis is on strengthening the grassroots,” the Lok Satta Party chief explained to people.
He may not have created waves like other high-profile politicians but the unassuming JP, as he is fondly called, struck the right chords with the electorate.
At one small railway station in Nalgonda district, there were just two women to greet him but JP readily obliged them with autographs even as the train halted there for just a minute.
At Bhongir in the same district, the party candidate contesting the April 16 Assembly election came with a group of supporters to welcome JP during the trip. He addressed ordinary passengers at another station even as the party “volunteers” distributed leaflets listing the Lok Satta’s promises. No where were crowds mobilised to show off the party’s strength and ordinary passengers and workers formed his audience.
“We are not promising heaven, like the so-called traditional parties have been promising. We are only assuring the people that their basic needs will be taken care of and life will be made merrier for them by all means,” JP said.
“Politics these days has been revolving around three families in the state. The main parties have totally ignored the grassroots but the Lok Satta Party will make politics revolve around the people again,” the former bureaucrat promises to thunderous applause from youth who gathered in a sizeable number at Warangal railway station.
As the train started moving after a two-minute halt, JP reached for the general compartment attached to the special bogie and interacted with the passengers for over 30 minutes. Greeting every passenger personally, JP explained his party’s main objective of cleansing the current politics and bringing back dignity to the lives of people.
With such plain speaking, the Lok Satta Party chief could only win wide applause from the people.