Laloo’s lantern fights to flicker

Except in Kishanganj, where former Union Minister Taslimuddin’s victory is likely, in the remaining four seats — RJD has left Katihar for the Congress — Laloo looks vulnerable. Nowhere is this more evident than in Saharsa, a constituency which alongwith adjoining Madhepura, is inhabited predominantly by Yadavs. In fact, Saharsa and Madhepura, which were part of one constituency till 1962, were described: Rome Pope Ka, Saharsa Gope Ka (What Rome is to the Pope, Saharsais to the Yadavs).

But caste isn’t exactly coming to Laloo’s aid. Over the last couple of years, government inefficiency and the fodder scam have hurt his public image. His election symbol, the lantern, has provoked many people to criticize the government on the issue of kerosene prices. Shortage of kerosene has become a major issue with the predominantly agricultural population of the region. Instead of being sold at the normal Rs 3 per litre, it’s now being sold at over Rs 15 per litre, that too from select outlets. “Lalooji blames the BJP for the shortage, but we don’t believe him,” says a voter.

What is more damaging, though, is that Laloo is no longer seen as the Yadav leader. Ever since he broke away from the Janata Dal last August, not only did his challenger Sharad Yadav succeed in weaning away the MPs from Saharsa, Araia and adjoining Jhanjharpur, a section of the local Yadavs also have been switching camps.

Fahim Mandal Yadav, a resident of Patuaha village in Saharsa district, had voted forthe “chakkar chhap” in the last election. “Is baar, Yadav vote lalten our chakkar mein bat jayega” (This time, the Yadav votes will be split between lantern (Laloo’s election symbol) and wheel (the JD symbol),” he says. Laloo is also paying for his populism. Says Hari Yadav, another resident of Patuaha: “Last time, Laloo promised to provide us dhotis and saris for Rs 15 each. We never got anything.”

In Saharsa, the RJD candidate is Anoop Lal Yadav, a veteran socialist leader. His challenger is sitting Janata Dal MP Dinesh Chandra Yadav. In the fight between the two Yadavs, it is Samata Party candidate Md. Farooq Salauddin who may emerge victorious here. Son of a former state minister, he wields tremendous clout in the area, especially among the Muslims who number around 1.6 lakh.

The Yadav versus Yadav story is set to be repeated in two other constituencies, Purnea and Khagaria, besides Madhepura. In Purnea, Laloo has fielded local MLA Dilip Kumar Yadav who has several criminal cases registeredagainst him to take on his erstwhile protege Pappu Yadav.

The fight between the two Yadav dons has left the people of this constituency slightly wary of the ensuing polls. But Pappu, observers say, has an edge over his rival because of his widespead support from not just Muslims and non-Yadav OBCs, but also the upper-castes.

“We’ll vote for Pappu because he has initiated a lot of development work in the area. It is because of him that we now receive an uninterrupted supply of power,” says a Rajput housewife from Kosi Colony, an upscale neighbourhood in the town.

In fact, the RJD candidate is set to be relegated to the third, or even the fourth place in Purnea. The fight here is essentially between Pappu and Jai Krishna Mandal of the BJP, a member of the dhanuk (an OBC) community. Giving a twist to the fight here is Udai, alias Pappu Singh, the Congress candidate. A Rajput, he’s the younger brother of Union Revenue Secretary N. K. Singh.

The two Pappus, interestingly, have been touring the vastconstituency on hired choppers, a fact which has become the talking point here. Their campaign budget, by the time elections are finally held, may exceed the EC limit.

But in Araria, a reserved constituency, it is BJP candidate Ramji Rishideo who’s giving his rivals a run for their money. He had lost the last election by a narrow margin and this time, with the non-BJP votes split, he may wrest the seat from his JD rival Sukhdeo Paswan.

The RJD has decided to support Congress nominee Tariq Anwar from the Katihar seat. In fact, it is one of the few constituencies in the state where the RJD-Congress alliance seems to be working, even though JD candidate Shaqee Ahmed Khan, a former president of JNU Students’ Union, may garner some Muslim votes. Tariq, however, seems to have an edge and is likely to defeat his BJP rival Nikhil Kumar Chaudhary in this Muslim-dominated seat.

Interestingly, it is the only constituency where there are posters carrying photographs of Congress president Sitaram Kesri with themessage: Aarthik Swaraj, Garibon ka Raj (Economic self-rule, the government of the poor).