Lok Sabha elections: Kirti Azad stares at a tricky wicket in Dhanbad

Cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad never expected such a scary reception as he entered Wasseypur, a buzzing locality in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad and which came into prominence with the release of the film Gangs of Wasseypur.

It was in the first week of April. The area, dominated by a minority community, turned hostile and lodged protests against Azad, the Congress candidate from Dhanbad, which goes to the polls in the sixth phase of the elections on May 12. 

People lobbed volleys of allegation saying his father, Bhagwat Jha Azad, who was chief minister of Bihar, was responsible for the riots.Azad’s cricketing instincts took over and he turned offensive.

“Those who are saying this (his father’s links to the riots) are unaware of the facts,” Azad said. His father resigned as Bihar chief minister in March 1989 whereas the riots took place in October that year, he said, adding that his father was not named in any of the FIRs or was not in any way connected with the riots.

The incident baffled Azad for another reason. As political observers put it, the Wasseypur incident was sponsored by a few Congress leaders and not any opponent. Opposing the Congress meant supporting the BJP and one cannot think of it in Wasseypur, they added. The local Congress leaders, a couple of them aspiring to get the ticket to contest Lok Sabha election, were reluctant to give space to Azad.

Azad, who quit the BJP and joined the Congress, had to look for a new home ground. The Darbhanga seat, which he represented as BJP MP, was allotted to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Abdul Bari Sidiqqui due to grand alliance compulsions.

 Azad had to shift not only his constituency but also the state. He had to move to Jharkhand. He is convincing people and party colleagues that Dhanbad was not alien territory for him.

“I was born in Godda (now in Jharkhand, earlier in undivided Bihar) and worked for the Bokaro Steel Plant (also in Jharkhand) from 1982 to 1993,” Azad has been saying. 

The BJP has pitted its sitting MP from Dhanbad, P N Singh, against him. Singh defeated the Congress’ Ajay Dubey by a huge margin of 290,000 votes in 2014. But he is facing strong anti-incumbency while seeking a third term. However, the Congress is not prepared to exploit the situation. For, Azad lacks both men and material.

Congress managers are trying to put things in order. After Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow in Dhanbad on May 7, the equations within the party changed in favour of Azad. 

The BJP left no stone unturned and organised meetings of President Amit Shah in Dhanbad. The BJP managers are also pacifying Rita Verma, former BJP MP and minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, who had come out against Singh. 

The big surprise for both the Congress and BJP comes from the “Singh Mansion” — the indisputable seat of power in Dhanbad. 

Founded by Suryadeo Singh, known as coal king, the “Singh Mansion” still enjoys considerable influence on the country’s coal capital electorate. 

The “mansion”, however, remains a divided house. One of its members, Gautam Sidharath, is in the fray as an independent candidate. 

The Congress is confident he will chisel off BJP votes. The BJP thinks the Congress will suffer on account of this.