There are no Boleros, Sumos or Xylos in his convoy. There are no motorcycle-borne young men to herald his arrival in parts of his constituency.
Ghamalu Choudhury of Prajatantrik Congress Party is contesting the Basti Sadar seat and, to keep his expenditure in check, he is using a buffalo to ferry him across the constituency.
“Vehicles are expensive and even more expensive are the cost of petrol and diesel. I cannot afford both so the easiest option for me was my buffalo,” he says.
Ghamalu travels from one part of his constituency to another riding on his buffalo. While he makes a strong statement against price hike, he also manages to attract sufficient attention of the voters.
“It has been a week since he started campaigning and he is already popular as “Bhainswale candidate” in the constituency. His party is little known and Ghamalu would have also remained a has-been candidate in the polls if it had not been for his buffalo idea,” says Balwant Singh, a local businessman.
Ghamalu, a first-time contestant, admits that though he is trying his luck in the Assembly polls, his main target is the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “Whether I win or not, I will contest the Lok Sabha polls also,” he says and adds that using a buffalo as a means of transport allows him to interact with the poorest of the poor.
While the buffalo ride is giving Ghamalu ample media coverage and popularity, some of his detractors terms it as a publicity gimmick. Some of his rivals have even sent a letter to animal right activists in Lucknow asking them to request the administration to ban the misuse of the animal.
“The poor buffalo is made to walk several kilometres every day, carrying the candidate around. This is detrimental to the health of the buffalo and must be banned,” says Anand Kumar, a social activist.
To this, Ghamalu retorts, “Where are they when buffaloes are made to pull cartloads of goods? Why do they not sympathise with the animal then? In fact, it is people like these so-called activists who are trying to gain publicity from me.”