Rampur (UP): Only a diamond can cut a diamond. This adage seemed to be playing on the mind of Congress candidate for Rampur Lok Sabha constituency, Begum Noor Banu, when she asked the heartthrob of yesteryears Zeenat Aman and comedian Asrani to campaign for her against cine star-turned-politician Jaya Prada of Samajwadi Party.

Zeenat and Asrani, both of whom joined Congress recently, addressed public meetings in Rampur and in three villages today, and though they were at least three hours late in reaching different venues, they were greeted by swarms of people.

Elections 2004-The Drama unfolds...
Political Parties in India

At several places, their vehicle was stopped by fans to catch a glimpse of the stars who had descended on this dusty constituency.

Asrani, who was on the front seat, was visibly displeased at being garlanded again and again while Zeenat just smiled. Perhaps Asrani was also upset at being greeted with cheers of "Johnny Lever (another comedian) Zindabad".

But it was he who stole the show at rallies later. While Zeenat confined herself to waving to the crowd and saying a few words in support of Noor Banu, Asrani had the people splitting their sides with his jokes at the expense of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and Samajwadi Party.

Doing a take off on his own famous dialogue in the movie "Sholay", he said, "Hamm Angrezo ke zamaane ke jailor hai (I am a jailor from the times of the British). I have never seen any BJP leader going to jail during the freedom struggle; it was only Congressmen who sacrificed for this country."