145;Atal Behari, who? Shining, what?146;

They're just 30-odd km from the route of L K Advani8217;s Bharat Uday Yatra in Maharashtra. But Advani wouldn8217;t have dared to go there...

They8217;re just 30-odd km from the route of L K Advani8217;s Bharat Uday Yatra in Maharashtra. But Advani wouldn8217;t have dared to go there to trumpet Vajpayee government8217;s 8216;8216;achievements8217;8217;. For one, he couldn8217;t have reached these inaccessible villages and even if he had, he would face the embarrassment of being asked 8216;8216;who Vajpayee?8217;8217;

To the Kolam and Gond tribals in Pimpalgaon, Lainguda, Belgaon, Berdi and Futki villages in Chandrapur district, the PM is a stranger. Most of them don8217;t even know their country8217;s name. 8216;8216;They say it8217;s Bharat or something,8217;8217; say some. Others say it8217;s Maharashtra.

No sitting MP has ever visited them. They don8217;t know who their current MP Naresh Pugalia, Congress or MLAs Sudershan Nimkar and Avinash Varjurkar, Congress are. They can8217;t tell what next month8217;s elections are for. 8216;8216;Vidhan Sabha?8217;8217; is what a relatively enlightened one hesitantly asks with an apologetic smile. 8216;8216;Panja and phool8217;8217; is how some of them identify India8217;s two main parties.

The biggest government officials ever to visit them have been patwaris and gram sevaks. Successive MPs and MLAs couldn8217;t have cared less. With average land-holding of 1-2 acres, they produce jowar, cotton and tuar and also work as labourers. Some Belgaon tribals have lost half their land to a mining leasee who is excavating red soil for cement manufacturers. They have been tilling these forest lands for generations, but haven8217;t yet been allotted pattas.

Having to trudge through kilometres of slush for most part of the year, the PM8217;s Rural Roads Scheme is, for them, a far cry. Average distance of the nearest health centre is 5-10 km and they have a single-teacher vasti shala being run in shanties.

As for electricity, Pimpalgaon and Lainguda are still living in the dark. Forget telephones and TVs, they don8217;t even have access to clean water. They are not aware of any of the beneficial government schemes or about their rights.

Futki is a shade better on the awareness front. 8216;8216;We had boycotted polls some years ago, to no avail,8217;8217; says Patru Kanake. They say sitting Chimur Congress MLA Avinash Warjurkar was the first MLA ever to visit their village. 8216;8216;He came last Diwali promising to build us a school, but didn8217;t show up later,8217;8217; remembers Baburao Yerme. Warjurkar says he twice visited Futki. 8216;8216;We have come out with a GR to clear road projects. Futki8217;s problem would be solved,8217;8217; he says.

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Berdi villagers are upset with their proposed resettlement for an irrigation project in the area. 8216;8216;I am over 70 now with no one to look after me, where would I go in this age,8217;8217; asks Kawdu Gedam. Kawdu won8217;t forego his land 8216;8216;even for a goldmine8217;8217;.

Two-time MP Naresh Pugalia claims it8217;s not possible for an MP to visit over 1,800 villages in the constituency. 8216;8216;The MLAs normally travel to most of the places. And then Pimpalgaon and Lainguda are in Naxal-affected area, so it8217;s not easy,8217;8217; he explains.

Yet, despite marginalisation and unlike many of their urban counterparts, these villagers have unfailingly cast their votes, asking for nothing in return. 8216;8216;Why on earth should we let our vote go waste,8217;8217; says Sahdev Chaudhary from Futki.