Ghosi, Sept. 30 :     If the Ghosi elections could be scripted and made into a soap opera, getting to the top of the charts would be child?s play. Like all melodramas on the small screen, no one is sure of the ending. But it?s worth a watch anyway. Capturing the public?s imagination is a formidable cast. Congress candidate Sudha Rai, wife of Uttar Pradesh stalwart Kalpnath Rai, whose death triggered the bitter family duel. National Democratic Alliance nominee Siddharth Rai, son of Kalpnath?s first wife, Ramvati Devi, and Sudha?s stepson. He accuses his stepmother of ?showing her true colours?, and promises to ?wipe her out?. The supporting cast is no less interesting. There?s S.P. Rai, Kalpnath?s personal assistant, who booked two rooms for the alleged henchmen of Dawood Ibrahim in a guest house of the National Thermal Power Corporation in Mumbai, an act which landed Kalpnath in jail. He is now Siddharth?s campaign manager, who claims to know the ?inner secrets? of the Rais and ?Sudha Rai?s loose character?. Sudha accused him of being a ?Vibhishan? (traitor) who has split the family to grab Kalpnath?s assets. Finally, the surprise package: former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, who, it is reliably learnt, is funding Siddharth?s campaign and has publicly given him his ?blessings?. Chandra Shekhar has been Kalpnath?s long-time foe and wants to curb Sudha?s emergence. As Siddharth is in the Janata Dal(United) and only a boy of 21, manipulating him is relatively easy. The family spectacle, played out in the sprawling and well-nursed Ghosi constituency, has clouded all else. The results are secondary. The tear-jerker of a campaign is drawing the crowds to the rallies of both mother and son to hear what vitriol they will spit on each other. The dark horses here could well be the BSP?s Balkrishna Chauhan and the Samajwadi Party?s Dara Singh Chauhan. Both Sudha and Siddharth consider the BSP their main opposition, but it is the Rais around whom the drama revolves. Ghosi?s soap has a new episode everyday. Both protagonists begin their day at six. Sudha from a 10-acre bungalow ? the house Kalpnath built in the heart of Mau, while Siddharth operates from his father?s modest ancestral home in Simri Jamalpur village, 30 km away. Both travel in identical Tata Sumos with a picture of Kalpnath on the windscreen. After their morning meetings, where hundreds gather to give advice or merely watch, both move out in their respective directions. Often their convoys cross each other. ?Not even a glance is exchanged,? says Govind Rai, a Sudha supporter. ?Yeh asli Mahabharat hai (this is the real Mahabharat),? says Arvind Rai, Kalpnath?s cousin and a Siddharth backer. Sudha dishes out the sentimental stuff. In Nasopur village, she said: ?Ours is not a family feud. It?s a fight for principles. I?m fighting for my husband?s principles, while my son is not.? Draped in the white sari of mourning, Sudha sobs. Referring to S.P. Rai, she said: ?Those who gave evidence against my husband, claim to be Siddharth?s well-wishers. They will ruin him. He will realise his mistake and come to me. As a mother, I?ll welcome him.? Cut to the rival camp, where Sudha is the archetype of a Bindu or a Sasikala ? traditional step-mothers of Hindi masala films. ?Arrey, Sudha to sauteli hai, asli roop to dikhana tha (after all, Sudha is the step-mother, she had to reveal her true self),? screams a speaker from the dais as he waits for Siddharth?s arrival at a rally. The NDA nominee is expected to fly in with railway minister Nitish Kumar. On his part, Siddharth says: ?My mother claims she is the natural heir to Kalpnath Rai, but my father never said this to the people. I got a ticket first, so she should have refrained from contesting.?