last couple of years have been very bad for Bundelkhand — first it was rain that flooded river Ken in Banda and it was followed by drought. The situation was so bad that people from this region moved to other cities to eke out their living. left behind were elderly and animals who struggled to survive the natural vagaries.
The slogans like Rs Khet ko paani, pet ko paani’ (water to irrigate fields and to quench thirst), Sabko Rozgar (employment for all) Sasti shiksha, sasta upchaar yehi hai hamaare vichar (cheap education, cheap healthcare is our demand) rent the air. Come election — all these issues have been forgotten instead caste has become the talking point.
Bhagwat Prasad, director, Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Sansthan, an NGO working in Chitrakoot said regional and caste based parties hold sway in this rugged and parched land.
People struggle to get their basic necessities and curse Government day in and day out, but when time comes to choose their representatives their prefer caste to their basic needs.
Water and food are the basic demand here. In summer when temperature shoots over 50 degrees Celsius women in villages trudge 5-6 kms every day to get water. Importance of water could be testified from a common couplet in Bundelkhand, which when translated in English say: “a woman loves her pitcher more than her husband, she prays her pitcher should not break even if her husband dies.” The scarcity of water is more intense in Chitrakut region having a rocky base. The soil level is just a feet deep. Groundwater flows through the stone cleavage and collects in the pit which could be well or handpumps’s base.
Raja Bhaiya, convener of another NGO Vidyadham Samiti, said scarcity of water hits agriculture production. The Government records said 70 per cent of the land in many districts of Bundelkhand is irrigated but the fact is just 45 per cent of the land has irrigation facilities.
“Among industries only bidi industry is the largest source of none-agriculture employment,” said the activist, adding that Bundelkhand has the highest rate of people in UP moving to other States for employment.
Despite all these hardships people cast Rs caste’ in the election. This political mindset has not changed. National parties like Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have become irrelevant here. These parties have their influence in the select pockets. But by and large it is Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Pary who hold sway in this region. Bundelkhand has 19 constituencies with OBCs being the dominant caste with 52 per cent vote share. It is followed by SC which comprises 30 per cent of vote count.
In 2007 Assembly election, the BSP had won 13 seats while it was runners up in 5 seats while the SP had won 5 seats and was runners up in 9 constituencies. The role reversed in 2012 Assembly polls with the BSP winning 7 seats - six less than last edition while the SP’s count rose to 7 from previous 5 seats. The Congress had won 4 seats and the BJP 1 in last elections.
This time the BSP has emerged as a force to reckon with. Therefore addressing a rally in Jalaun on Monday Prime Minister Narendra Modi called BSP as Rs Behanji Sampatti Party’’ - stressing on how Mayawati has amassed huge property. Mayawati hit back calling Modi as Mr Negative Dalit Man - to send message to her dalit constituency.
After 2012 BJP has started working on this area. It brought Uma Bharati, a lodh leader, from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. She, along with Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, has become BJP’s face in this area. BJP of later started Parivartan yatra and PM has also addressed two rallies.
“Parties are trying their best but their campaign is based on caste. There is no concrete plan for development of Bundelkhand. This is really bad for this region,” Prasad said.