Ek Uma Bharati Supernakha bankar ghoom rahi hai" (No one came. Neither Shatrughan Sinha nor Hema Malini. Only Uma Bharati, in the garb of Surpanakha (Ravana's sister), is roaming."

Even the tantrum-throwing sanyasin Bharati had left the campaigning midway, rushing to Bhopal in a hope to dislodge Madhya Pradesh chief minister Babulal Gaud. "Vajpayeeji and Advaniji are our biggest stars. Shatruji is not campaigning because of personal reasons," says Rajesh Kumar, BJP's state media co-ordinator at the party's Birchand Patel Marg office here.

Sinha, touted as the biggest crowd puller with his throaty, humourous one-liners, has cocooned himself in Mumbai. "I have certain grievances which I have told the party president. I am glad he honoured my views," rationalises Sinha from his Juhu home.

Sinha is understood to have stayed away from the campaigning on two major grounds: the inclusion of some criminal elements in the party's Bihar list and the BJP's attempt to project Janata Dal (U)'s leader Nitish Kumar as the CM aspirant.

Sidelined, Sinha thinks the party uses him just as a crowd puller during elections and forgets. Shatru bhaiya nahi to prachar ka maza nahin (Without Shatru the campaigning is dull)," says Ajay Kumar, a vendor near Mona cinema at Gandhi Maidan.

Even Congress has no stars this time. The party had roped in several out-of-work stars. "Stars can get crowd, not votes. We believe in interaction with the masses, not star shows," rationalises senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh.