Pro- and anti-Modi mobilisation may be the overriding factor in deciding the battle of Bihar, but despite the emotional frenzy created by leaders on both sides of the secular-communal divide, voters are not ready to close their eyes to the performance and credential of the candidates.
In an election dominated by high-decibel “divisive” campaign, under-performers might still get away by hoodwinking the voters, but it is clear that people are becoming increasingly conscious about their rights and responsibilities.
Take the case of Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, the sitting MP from West Champaran, and son of three-time member of Parliament Dr Madan Prasad Jaiswal. Jaiswal junior is one of the most unpopular MPs this correspondent came across during extensive tour across constituencies falling in North Bihar. Talk to any number of voters in West Champaran, and they will reel out a list of grievances against him. People accuse him of neglecting the constituency, being totally inaccessible, and not giving discount to even poorest of the poor patients of his own constituencies.
The anger against him is so profound that we found dozens of people, some even BJP supporters, who openly vent their ire against their MP in the busy Bettiah market. “He has no time for common people. He is busy in making money,” says Tapis Ram, a vocal Dalit. Ram said he voted for Jaiswal in 2009, but this time he would back filmmaker Prakash Jha, who is contesting on the Janata Dal(U) ticket.
Of course, many people, especially the youth, might still vote for Jaiswal though they strongly condemn him too. “Bettiah is one of the worst towns, dirty and pot-holed, but our MP has done nothing to improve the situations,” says Rahul Gupta, leaning against his new motorcycle. “lekin ham phool chap ko hi vote denge,” he adds.
Ram and Gupta share their sentiments about Jaiswal though they might vote differently. But the neglect of the constituency is a powerful factor working against the BJP candidate, giving Prakash Jha a chance to sneak into the race. The RJD has fielded old hand Raghunath Jha, who is weighed down by age and ailment and cannot actively campaign deep into the constituency bordering Nepal. Bettiah has sizeable chunk of Brahmin and Muslim voters, and if they turn to Prakash Jha at the eleventh hour, Jaiswal will pay the price for taking the voters for granted despite Narendra Modi’s impressive public rally in Bettiah on May 7.
In the adjoining Valmikinagar constituency, once the den of dreaded dacoits like Bhagar Yadav, JD(U) MP Biadyanath Mehta is also confronting similar ire of the people. Around 20 km from Bhitiharwa Gandhi ashram, at one point the narrow road is so badly damaged that one is suddenly reminded of the lalu era. Angry locals point out that they approached Mehta several time to get that small portion of the road repaired, but he did not bother.
At several places along the road and in deep onto villages, one heard the same litany of grievances against the MP, not from his rivals but from his own voters. “He won because of our support in 2009, this time he will finish third,” declared Dinanath Sharma at Narkatiyaganj.
With Mehta virtually out of race, Congress’ Purnmasi Ram, who won in 2009 as JD(U) candidate from Gopalganj has emerged a clear favourite from this sugar belt of north Bihar. The BJP has fielded local MlA Satish Dubey, who carries the baggage of a several criminal cases against his name. In addition, rebel BJP leader Dilip Verma, who has several Assembly election from here, is cutting into Dubey’s vote in a big way as an Independent candidate.
Interestingly, while Mehta and Dubey are unpopular among the voters for different reasons, people have good words for Verma. “He is always ready to help anyone,” says Satan Sharma in Narkaitiyganj. People point out that as an MlA Verma has did his best to attend to his Assembly segment. “We have known him as tireless worker and not as leader. He is best among the lot here,” says Dattan Mistri.
Interestingly, Purnmasi Ram, fled from Gopalganj after his realised that voters would not forgive him for the way he neglected the constituency after getting elected as JD(U) candidate in 2009.
The contrast clearly stands out. While sitting MPs in two adjoining constituencies bear the brunt of voters’ anger for not standing up to their expectations, the people are ready to give chance to even an Independent candidate if he passed their scrutiny. Verma may not win still, but the fact that he is in the race showed that a section of voters are ready to give chance to even underdogs who does not enjoy the blessings of a political Godfather.
In East Champaran, too, BJP sitting MP Radhamohan Singh, faces anti-incumbency but not the type of anger Mehta and Jaiswal faced in West Champaran and Valmikinagar. This is one seat in the Champaran belt which the BJP can hope to win with ease. Singh is pitted against Avnish Singh, a former BJP MlA, who is a JD(U) candidate , and Vinod Srivastava of the RJD.
Siwan, Gopalganj and Vaishali are the remaining three constituencies going to polls in the last phase on May 12. Despite emotional issues and political and caste affiliations, the voters are not indifferent to performance of their MPs. This awareness forced Om Prakash Yadav, who won as an Independent in 2009 from Siwan, to join the BJP. Yadav has not done much for Siwan, and he could hope to regain his seat partly because of the Modi factor and party because of anti-Shahabuddin polarisation here. Md Shahabuddin was once the unquestionable don of the region, is now serving life sentence, and his wife Hina Saheb is trying to prospect his political legacy as RJD candidate.
In Goapalganj, the performance factor forced Purnmasi Ram to feel the constituency and jump into the fray from Valmikinagar.
At the same time, vocal RJD leader and five-time MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is a clear favorite from Vaishali only because of the way he nurtures his constituency and his excellent reputation as being an honest and committed leader.
“We’re lucky to have an MP like him,” says Prabhu Dayal, a college student. His sentiments is shared by host of people in the constituency, who point out that Singh has done his best to help the poor voters of his constituency and never been involved in any scam or irregularities in his long political career.
Party and slogans do matter, but candidates can’t take voters for granted any more.