Village in Bihar calls for poll boycott after giving chance to every party

Begusarai goes to polls on April 29 with three main candidates in fray: CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar, BJP's Giriraj Singh and RJD's Tanveer Hasan

As one passes through the Barauni region in Bihar’s Begusarai, a crowd of 50-odd people can be seen standing by the side of an unpaved road.

But they are not standing in the soaring heat to witness the election spectacle or catch a glimpse of a star campaigner. Shoulder-to-shoulder, each one has just one strong message to deliver to all the politicians and their cavalcade passing by: Boycott polls.

Begusarai goes to poll on April 29, in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election, with three main candidates in fray: CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar, BJP's Giriraj Singh and RJD's Tanveer Hasan.

“Can you hear us for a moment?” a group of young boys and women, belonging to Rajwara village, ask as they watch the campaign vehicles of Kanhaiya Kumar pass by.

The villagers claim they haven't seen a concrete road since the time of independence and they have to collect donations to maintain the unimproved roads.

The voters of Rajwara have given a chance to all the parties in the Assembly elections since India’s independence in 1947.

Rajwara falls under the Teghra assembly constituency. First, there was an elected MLA from the Congress in 1951, followed by an independent candidate in 1957, Communist Party of India in 1962, BJP in 2010 and RJD in the latest state elections held in 2015.

“I have never seen a road in this village since independence. We have given an opportunity to all parties. They come here to ask for votes and forget about us every time,” Arun Kumar, an unskilled worker in the region, says.

The problems compounded in 2016 when villagers realised Rajwara had been moved out of the Bihat nagar parishad (city council). It wasn't a part of a gram panchayat either.

“As a result, we haven't been able to get benefits of any government schemes to build toilets, get cylinders or be a part of any housing scheme,” 27-year-old student Sanjeet Kumar said.

The villagers have not been able to reap the benefits of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, PM Awaz Yojana, among other central government schemes.

They hold a banner, which reads “vikas nahi toh vote nahi… sadak, shauchalaya, awas, jal ki aas nahi toh vote kis kaam ki (if there is no development, there is no vote. What's the use of voting if there is no hope for roads, toilets, house and water).”

People from the village plan to hold demonstrations outside the three polling booths in the region between April 25 and 29. They say it can affect at least 2,000 votes.

“After we were moved of the nagar pallika, we registered our protest and in response, the Barauni BDO [block development officer] told us in 2016 in ire that ‘you don't belong to any region, so you are from Bangladesh’,” another student Sameer Kumar said.

Between 2016 and 2019, the villagers kept persuading their case as they were missing out on all the state and central-level benefits, which are provided with the help of local authorities. “In last three years, nothing has happened. Why should we vote? We have been on dharna since one week,” Sanjeet said.

The villagers also wrote to the district magistrate, the topmost bureaucrat of the region, but their requests have not been taken into account till date.

Politicians from all parties are now lining up at their doorstep to seek votes. Hearing about their protest, Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Birendra Kumar visited the locals on Sunday, April 21.

Even though he gave a written assurance to fix the situation soon, the women in the village raised slogans against him, saying they didn't believe in his promises as he has visited the village for the first time since being elected in 2015. “If I don't get this sorted, don't vote for me in coming elections,” Kumar had told them.

Kanhaiya Kumar also passed by the village on April 24 and assured them that he will return in the evening. However, it also remained a hollow promise. Locals say BJP’s Giriraj Singh also came for a roadshow a few days back but refused to listen to them saying that he doesn't have the time.

As for the villagers, they continued with their slogans: “Neta teri manmaani nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi (Minister, your ways won't work).”