In ‘Poorvanchali’ zone,Cong draws anger,JD-U shrugs

It has been days since Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressed a rally in Dwarka,and the JD(U) election office is a stone’s throw from Sagarpur. Yet the party appears nowhere in contention. Vikas,a guard hailing from Bihar,says he is yet to sit down with people from his village and decide how to vote,but agrees chosing the JD(U) makes no sense — “We don’t even know his name,why should I waste my vote on him?”

In Ambedkar Nagar,as one resident puts it,“One landlord in Khanpur village has four tenants from Bihar on an average.” Here,the bitterness is open against sitting Congress MLA Chaudhry Prem Singh,who holds the record for representing a constituency for the highest number of years. Residents have not forgiven his statement that even his dog can win on a Congress ticket from here. And Modi’s rally at Dakshinpuri Sunday has left a mark.

“All the work Prem Singh has done is in Lado Sarai,where he lives,” says a resident of Khanpur,originally from Bhagalpur. “The sewers inside Khanpur are overflowing,houses are damaged. It is going to be BJP this time. I want Arvind Kejriwal’s party to win,but doubt if it can,so voting for it would be a foolish choice.”

Ram Singh,70,sitting in front of his shop in an AAP cap and toying with a BJP scarf,is symbolic of the mood in Ambedkar Nagar,torn between the two choices. Incidentally,in more than one constituency,even the most ardent AAP voter cannot name the candidate. Everyone identifies with Kejriwal.

The partiality for the AAP is apparent in Dwarka’s Sector-X market too but the fact that the BJP’s Pradyuman Rajput has worked and is of the “right” caste clearly takes precedence. In Palam,there is acknowledgment of Mahabal Mishra’s work but also ire against his party for rising prices. “He may have worked but look at what his party has done. Fuel prices are increasing every month and vegetables are no longer affordable. Modi sounds like he means business,” says Sunil Kumar,a fruit vendor,originally from Muzaffarpur in Bihar. He fails to name the JD(U) candidate.

In the slums,many sport the AAP’s white cap,but just as common is an apprehension that a vote for the jhaadu may be wasted,or worse,it will end up helping the Congress. “Sometimes they say its the lotus,sometimes they say it’s something else,” says rickshaw puller Dilip Prasad,disinterestedly. Ask him about the jhaadu and his sombre expression changes. “I want to give them a chance now that we have seen everybody. But I don’t know,” says Prasad,who hails from Nalanda.