Fresh road in Chhapra
Laloo made two big railway investments—a Rs 4,000-crore rail engine factory under construction in Marhowrah and a wheel factory in Dariapur—in his avatar as rail minister. He is also credited with having given about 5,000 casual jobs in the railways to Yadavs, some Dalits and Muslims. But far from bringing him credit, the job scheme seems to have rebounded on him. For every one family that got a job, there were 10 others that did not. In a state like Bihar, where every opportunity is coveted by many, there was heartburn among those who did not benefit. Like Ram Lakhan Yadav of Dariapur village. "We went and stood outside his house in Patna for hours to get these jobs. We were pushed off and sent away by securitymen," he grumbles. Has he voted for Laloo this time? "Yes we have. Lekin woh craze nahin hai (but there is not that craze)."
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Even his core voter—the Yadav—may still be loyal to him but not terribly enthusiastic about rushing off to see Laloo-Rabri rallies. We have things to do and have seen so many choppers land so many times, they say. To complicate matters for Laloo in Saran, the BSP put up a strong local Muslim candidate who is expected to have cornered a chunk of his community’s votes. There are 2.7 lakh Yadavs and 2.5 lakh Rajputs in the seat besides 1.5 lakh Muslims. Rudy, who has contested from the seat several times and won in 1999, is confident that things could be working in his favour this time. "I’d have found it hard to believe it myself but people tell me we have done well and Laloo has not. Let us see," he says.
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Ravi Ranjan Singh, a local advocate in Chhapra town, tells of the region being a historic place nestled between three rivers—the Ganga, the Gandak and the Sarju. Excavations have revealed the existence of an ancient civilisation in the area. It has also produced citizens of the calibre of Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first president of India, who went to a local school in Chhapra.
We ask residents why the enthusiasm for Laloo has waned when he has tried to bring investments to his seat. Many villagers answer that investments mean nothing unless they get direct gains. Ravi Ranjan points out that Marhowrah, where Laloo has ensured a huge rail investment, was once an industrial hub in Bihar. "But it was during his tenure that one by one everything shut down. There was a sugar factory, a distillery, the Saran engineering factory and the Morton chocolate factory. All shut."
Yet, people voted for Laloo in the past because he had stitched together a formidable coalition of all backwards, Dalits and Muslims and was someone who played a critical role in empowering the poor and the dispossessed. He is still loved in pockets but the social coalition has broken and people now aspire for more than just holding their head high in a state where the social structure was oppressive. People in Laloo’s constituency are happy that he has tried to bring in projects, something even his rivals acknowledge. But politics is never about linear issues. It is a sum total of caste, chemistry, public enthusiasm or plain indifference.