Madhepura: Clash of titans

For, pitted in one of the most difficult electoral battle, he is unwilling to miss any chance to project growth as his task in the future.

Despite running temperature, Union Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Sharad Yadav refuses to cancel the scheduled road show-cum-public contact programme. For, pitted in one of the most difficult electoral battle, he is unwilling to miss any opportunity to project ‘development’ as his task in the future.

Flying in a chopper to Alamnagar--the farthest point of his road show, he starts the backbreaking drive to Madhepura in a Tata Safari. At Badri Chowk and Bara Teni, he stops to address a group of people, mostly Paswans. Praising them as ‘bahadur log (brave people) committed to creating a new order,’ he makes it a point to explain how development will affect the common man.

“Do not sell off your lands in a hurry. Zameen sone ke bhav ho jayega (its value will increase like that of gold),” he says explaining how the declaration of the existing road as National Highway no.106, in besides becoming motorable, would benefit them. As the import of the message sinks in, the crowd breaks into spontaneous clapping and sloganeering.

Successful in instilling a dream, he is quick to list his developmental activities like conversion of narrow gauge railway line into broad gauge, setting up of separate junction points for rail and road, installation of 20 high power tension (HPT) doordarshan station, construction of bridges, cold storages and procurement of 50,000 mt of paddy in the area.

Quickly changing gear in Rahta and Khusthan, dominated by the minority community members, he links ‘vote’ with ‘imaan’, saying that it has been granted by God and should be exercised in favour of those who are “honest, truthful and committed to the cause of the people.” From this year, maize would be procured at Rs 505 per quintal, he says, reiterating his promise to allocate Rs 5 lakh for the local madarsa, after the elections were over.

Stop after stop, he is garlanded and greeted warmly. It is the same at Udakishunganj, Naya Bazar and Babhangama. But the welcome is entirely different at Bihariganj, where people shower flowers on his carcade, apparently expressing their gratitude for getting the stretch of the oldest grain and jute bazaar road converted into a PCC road. “

sab saulite chaei, kono dikkte nai chaei. Kaam karalke ta, jitbe na karte,” says Nandlal Sahni.