In 1925 a Congress conference was organised at Kanpur with the help of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. An industrialist of Kanpur Lala Chunnilal Garg was acquainted with Vidyarthi. He used the occasion and his familiarity with the Pratap editor to further his own political career.
Chunnilal gave a dinner to all the delegates and earned some popularity among the Congressmen.
Provincial Council elections were due that year. Pandit Motilal Nehru approved the name of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi for Kanpur seat as the Congress candidate. There was a rival group in Congress that wanted to put a fanner in the works of Vidyarthi.
They declared Lala Chunnilal Garg as the rival candidate. It became the contest between the friends.
None was ready to back out or accept defeat.
The idealist Vidyarthi followed the election code religiously. He did not drag in any caste, creed or party issue. His election speech was focussed on the national issues. But for Chunnilal it was no holds barred game.
He was trying every trick of the trade.
Vidyarthi sarcastically mentioned about it in his speech—‘There is great stir in the public life of this province. Appeals are being made in the name of public welfare. The humility and fresh gentlemanliness is overflowing. The charity and the generosity is making ear-splitting noises. It appears that the heaven is about to descend on the earth.
But it is too good to believe. There is something black at the bottom. Pigs are singing melodies and wolves are preaching compassion and non-violence.
The stir around is not a sign of life but death. It is taken for granted that the public is dead duck. It knows little about its own good, rights and duties. The cunning are taking advantage of its dead common sense. Using falsehoods they become councillor or board members. They say that they will serve the people and then the people are made to serve than the latter repent and suffer their misdeeds.
The public does not learn. It falls in the some trap next time around.
The time has changed. Today we are demanding independence on the plea that we are capable of running our own affairs, we have able people. So, there is no need for aliens to come here from a land thousands of miles away to rule over us. The affairs of our country should be in our own hands instead of in the hands of a few aliens.
So we are claiming. Our esteemed leaders are telling the world.
All these claims are meaningless until we prove that we are infact fit for self rule. We can show it in the areas where we have the chance to do so.
The municipalities are in our hands. There employees are our people and the members are chosen by our people. If we can’t elect members of merit and run municipal services efficiently what right we have got to demand independence for the country? How do we qualify for the self-rule?
Forget about the self-rule or independence. What is the value of a person who can’t see what is good for him or what is in his favour? Aren’t our voters the same kind of people? Don’t they vote for empty slogans, promises and falsehoods?
They get fooled by the words of flattery of selfish candidates.
A man who is not capable, who knows no municipal matters, who has no knowledge of the duties and rights of citizens, who can’t think or speak, who is not bold enough to fight for the interests of the people, who can’t protest against wrongs, a man who licks the boots of the officials considering it his duty, who sacrifices the public good for his own profit, who wants to rise up for his own glory, if you vote such a person to be your member then you not only have misused your vote but betrayed the country and the society. In such case you put evil in the chair that rightly belongs to nobility.
Use your vote judiciously. Give your vote to a deserving candidate…”
Thus, without naming any adversary or casting personal aspirious Vidyarthi illustrated the options before the voters which was well received by them.
The result was that Vidyarthi won the election by a huge margin of votes. It was a victory of a man of little resources over a man of immense wealth and social means.
His victory was celebrated by his supporters in a resounding manner. A garlanded Vidyarthi on a rickshaw was taken through the city in a procession.
Congratulations kept pouring in throughout the day and the night.