It's 'Delhi ki beti' versus 'son of soil' contest in Sasaram

SASARAM: Basawan Paswan (55) of Bamhaur village near Shivsagar in Rohtas district says he will vote for Congress nominee Meira Kumar not because she belongs to his caste, but he finds the former Lok Sabha Speaker mild-mannered, soft-spoken and courteous. Besides, she has done a lot for the development of the region.

Sasaram goes to the polls on May 19.

Basawan, a daily wager who somehow manages to run his family of six, says with a smile on his face, “Meira-ji comes from a very respectable family. She is late Jagjivan Ram’s heir. ‘babu-ji’ used to command respect in all sections of the society. And his daughter too deserves the same respect.”

Basawan is not alone in this dalit hamlet under Chenari assembly segment of Sasaram Lok Sabha (reserved) constituency to favour Meira (a Ravidas by caste). Vintesh (24), a mason by profession, also echoed similar views. The village with a population of around 1,000 is hardly 2km from Shivsagar block headquarters in Rohtas district.

Meira, the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha, is pitted against BJP sitting MP Chhedi Paswan, who had defeated her in 2014 general election by a margin of around 63,000 votes. Meira’s father and former deputy Prime Minister late Jagjivan Ram had represented the constituency since 1952 till his death in 1986.

However, the scene at Chhotki Chenari Dih village, another dalit-dominated village, is different. Most of the residents here complained that neither Meira nor Chhedi, who represented the seat twice and thrice respectively, visited them to get acquainted with the problems faced by them.

“While Meira-ji respects all, Chhedi is the ‘son of the soil’. It’s very difficult to meet Meira-ji in Delhi. On the other hand, Chhedi is easily accessible. So, we will prefer Chhedi to Meira-ji,” says Jitendra Choudhary (34), a daily wager and a resident of Chenari Dih. Choudhary’s friend Narendra Ram, also a daily wager, interrupts the discussion and says, “Jab sab apne apne jaat ki baat karta hai to hum kyon na karen?”

A 45-year-old woman, Kalawati Devi, who works as a cook in the local government school, supports Narendra on the issue. The dalits are divided on caste lines. While a major chunk of Ravidas community will favour Meira, Paswans will support Chhedi. The Ravidas has a sizeable population in the constituency (around 19% of total electorate). The Congress nominee is working hard to dent the upper caste votes, which is considered to be the vote base of the BJP (read NDA) in Bihar.

Chhedi’s supporters claim the Congress candidate is an “outsider” and call her ‘Delhi ki Beti’. But Congress district president Santosh Mishra dismisses the allegation. “She is the daughter of Sasaram. The issue is being raised by a section of people but it will not affect her poll prospects,” he claims.

On Wednesday, all senior leaders of the Grand Alliance partners, including Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD), Upendra Kushwaha (RLSP), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM-S) and Mukesh Sahni (VIP) attended an election meeting at Shivsagar as a show of solidarity and appealed the voters to vote for Meira.

Sasaram is considered the traditional seat of Congress. This can be gauged from the fact that Jagjivan Ram had won the seat even in 1984 when there was strong resentment against the Congress across the country. “There is no doubt that Meira-ji will win from here,” avers Siyaram Sharma of Karagahar assembly segment.

However, locals say the scene has changed in favour of Chhedi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Sasaram on Monday. Raju Singh (27), a businessman of Chainpur Bazaar says, “Mahaul badal gaya hai, sir. Earlier, the Congress candidate had an edge over her nearest rival.”

Meira doesn’t forget to mention the works such as Durgawati reservoir project, Idrapuri Dam and revamping of Sasaram railway junction during her tenure as MP. Durgawati project was the brainchild of ‘Babu-ji’, which was completed only last year. But the farmers are yet to be benefited from the project due to the state government’s lackadaisical attitude, she alleges.

She also doesn’t miss the opportunity to mention about her endeavour to bring Sasaram on the tourist map of India. The famous Sher Shah mausoleum is a centre of tourist attraction the world over.

Chhedi also doesn’t lag behind in enumerating the works undertaken by PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar. “Sabka saath sabka vikas”, is the mantra for him to seek votes in his favour. Sasaram consists of Mohania, Bhabhua, Chainpur in Kaimur district and Karagahar, Chenari and Sasaram assembly segments in Rohtas district.