Rajnath Singh hopes to uphold Atal Bihari Vajpayee's legacy in Lucknow

Mere prabhu! Mujhe itani unchai kabhi mat dena, gairon ko gale na laga sakun itani rukhai kabhi mat dena (My lord! Never give me such a high position that I am unable to hug those who are not close to me)

These words echoed the sentiments of the person who gained recognition as the leader of the masses, former prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The city of Lucknow has been almost synonymous with the name of this former Prime minister who won the seat for five consecutive terms.

As the electorate in Lucknow prepares to exercise its franchise on April 30, the Bharatiya Janata Party is invoking Vajpayee's legacy. The posters and billboards across the city prominently feature Vajpayee along with party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

In their speeches too, both Modi and party president and candidate from the Lucknow seat Rajnath Singh promise to fulfil Atal's dreams. In an audio message to voters, Modi described Lucknow as the 'karmabhoomi' of the former prime minister and assured them that the Modi-Rajnath team would work tirelessly to fulfil Vajpayee's dreams.

Rajnath, who received the blessings of Vajpayee through an angavastram (stole) just before he filed his nomination, also promised to bring an all round development and glory to the city.

Widely respected within the country and abroad, Vajpayee during his tenure added many achievements to his kitty. Despite stiff international and internal pressure, India entered a select group of nations after a series of successful nuclear tests at Pokharan in May 1998 under his leadership.

He also took the bus journey to Pakistan in February 1999 in a move to resolve the issues with the neighbours. But Pakistan replied by capturing mountain tops in Kargil leading to a war.

The leader received recognition for his poetry skills as well as gained respect as a voracious reader.

Though he vacated the seat on health grounds in the 2009 for Lalji Tandon to take over, it is now Rajnath Singh who is testing his luck on the seat. The question remains whether the BJP president will be able to able to maintain the legacy of the party founder.