Atal Fan Club: When eminent Urdu poets rooted for Vajpayee's win in Lucknow

Vajpayee in 2004 went on to retain his seat for the fifth straight time in Lucknow by defeating Samajwadi Party candidate Dr Madhu Gupta

The persona of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee transcended well beyond the political sphere to both Hindi and Urdu literature and poetry. 
 

In the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, eminent Urdu poets like Bashir Badr and Manzar Bhopali had formed the 'Atal Fan Club' to root for Vajpayee's fifth successive win from the Lucknow parliamentary constituency by consolidating the sizeable Muslim vote in his favour.  

The Atal Fan Club comprised 21 core members, the majority of them Muslims, associated with Urdu poetry and literature. One of the founding members was Lucknow-based Urdu litterateur Athar Nabi, who played