These days, nobody rides bicycles unless they have too,
even though, once upon a time it was a convenient
and affordable mode of transport. It got people from
point A to point B, provided those points were not too
far apart. In the cooler climes of Belgaum it was the
bicycle or the bus. Then came the mopeds and today
it’s a CO2 mess.
Not everyone might know that Mahatma Gandhi, the
man who brought down the British government with
the Dandi march, rode six
miles to work every day
while practicing as a lawyer
in Johannesburg, South Africa. On returning to India
in 1915 he rode a bicycle from Gujarat Vidyapith to
Sabarmati Ashram every day.
The humble bicycle is making a comeback, not as
a utility vehicle, but as a sports machine with a lot of
gears and tiny seats that dig into the backside.
But, in Uttar Pradesh, the bicycle is something else
altogether. This humble means of transport is worth
fighting for and if you think we are joking, ask Mulayam Singh
Yadav and his son Akhilesh. Those who understand politics
and what is at stake in UP will admit that the bicycle
could decide who wins the Assembly elections.
So it isn’t surprising for the UP elections to be peppered
with bicycle terminology. For instance, it is on this two-wheel,
self-propelled machine that Akhilesh hopes to pedal to power.
Some months back there was a concerted effort by the father
to dismount the son from the saddle or seat. Mulayam tried to
throw a spoke in Akhilesh wheels, but the son proved to be a
better cyclist than the father. He unleashed a chain of
events which eventually deflated Mulayam. Akhilesh
now has the handle back in his hands. In other words,
the father went flat out to apply the brakes on the son’s
political future, but it was the father who suffered
punctures. He now looks like a very tyred man.
In the Samajwadi Party there are wheels within
wheels. It’s also a party with a lot of wheeler-dealers,
each one adept at applying grease in order to ensure
that the wheels of power move smoothly. Like it or not
these men have a bearing on everything that transpires
in Lucknow and are the ones who usually cycle away
with the prize.
The entry of the Modi-led BJP into this velodrome of
conflict rang a bell. Now fully aware that the son had
emerged victorious in the Tour de SP, the Congress decided
to jump on to the bicycle. The latest news is that
the two parties have arrived at a seat-sharing formula.
The Congress will lend Akhilesh a hand, and the SP
will allow them to ride, what is known in Belgaum as,
double-seat. It is a road offence in Belgaum, but not in UP.
Thanks to this combination, Akhilesh is a more confident ridergearing-
up to return to power.
It is hard to believe that all that stands between the BJP and
power is a humble bicycle, but that is the sweaty truth.
