SUPAUL/MADHEPURA: They are commonly referred to as the ‘power couple’ of Bihar’s Seemanchal- Ranjeet Ranjan, MP of Supaul and her husband, Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, MP of Madhepura. However, the couple-among the few to withstand the Modi wave of 2014- standing as Congress and RJD candidates, respectively, find themselves in a spot of bother this time.
“Supaul may seem to be witnessing a close electoral battle between JD(U) and the Congress candidate on account of a stony silence of Yadav voters but Ranjeet Ranjan is a household name here among voters of all castes”, claimed Madhurendra Kumar Jha,48.
Mohan Yadav, 45, milk vendor of Runa village, said ‘she is a lioness to Supaul but her husband Pappu’s candidature against RJD's Sharad Yadav in Madhepura has angered Yadav voters.”
"They may have tougher time unlike 2014 in both Supaul and Madhepura but they are wooing their Yadav caste votes fervently", remarked Siddheshwar Singh, a former mukhiya of Yadav dominated Rupus panchayat in Supaul. "She will have our blessings as she helped us whenever we were in trouble," Mohammad Nizam, 43, said.
JDU candidate Dileshwar Kamat, however, believes he is riding a wave of appreciation for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's works of development and Narendra Modi's national face in politics and will win the seat.
He said: "In 2014 Ranjeet had received 3, 32927 votes and defeated me. I polled 2, 73255 votes and BJP candidate Kameshwar Choudhary drew 2, 49,693 votes. This time, we - the JD (U), the BJP and LJP are united-who can stop me from winning?”
Congress president Rahul Gandhi's rally on Saturday has, no doubt, consolidated the position of Ranjeet Ranjan but her differences with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav-upset over her husband challenging Sharad Yadav in Madhepura- has made for a tightrope walk.
Congress worker Naresh Jha believes, “Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Dalit votes will boost the Congress this time, if BJP votes go to JD (U)”. He said 60% of 805478 female voters out of total 16, 80,616 voters in Supaul LS constituency will vote for ‘didi’ (Ranjeet).
Ruki Devi,50, Seema Mandal,45 and Radhiya, 35-all selling vegetables at a village haat near Jhano, about 15 km from Madhepura, said "We will vote for our bahan and even our maliks (husbands) working in Gujarat and Punjab have also told us to do so”
The reason may not be hard to find. 45-year-old Sunaina Devi is unschooled but handles a made-in-China smartphone even while working in a field of maize at Garhauna, in the interiors of Supaul “Ranjeet is like a 'badi bahan" (elder sister)”, she said, adding, “Ranjeet didi calls me bahan. Whenever my husband and others of my village have fallen ill while working in Delhi, she always has arranged medical treatment for them free of cost”.
Like her, many women folk harvesting Rabi crop echoed the same sentiment. Noori Khatoon, a Muslim widow at Noonpur said she gets five saris without fail every year from Ranjeet Ranjan after she became widow. “She is our sister and we will not abandon her.”
But ice cream vendor Raja Kumar,25, a matriculate, said that promise of Rahul Gandhi to give Rs 72000 per year will help the unemployed. “But desh ka bhavishya Modi ji ke saath achha hai. Wo dushman ko marte hain"(The country’s future is with Modi. He kills the enemy),he said.
Ranjeet Ranjan came into politics in 1995 and unsuccessfully fought assembly election from Supaul. "I was born in Rewa of MP, brought up in Jammu, studied in Punjab, settled in Delhi and finally and fortunately married in Bihar. So I have realised what life actually is for people. I will tide over the false wave of Narendra Modi with the indomitable determination of a sports person and win the seat", she said.
Rajesh Ranjan, who is pitted against both-Dinesh Chandra Yadav of JD(U) and RJD’s Sharad Yadav from Madhepura said: “The fight is between a son of the soil and a Non-Resident Madhepurian (NRM)-Sharad Yadav. And the son of the soil will win”.
RJD candidate Sharad Yadav, on the other hand, claimed that a person named in the murder case of Ajeet Sarkar (late CPM legislator of Purnia), cannot be the choice of over 4 lakh Yadav voters. “He is like a Pappu before me. He cannot be a choice of people. He can dream till May 22”, Sarad said.
But there’s trouble. “About 15% of Bihar migrants to other states from Kosi Division districts are from Supaul and some 50,000 residents are working in other states and will not be available to vote. With the peak Rabi season falling during poll time a majority of rural voters have already migrated to Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and other states”, pointed out Dr Vidyasagar Jha,53, a teacher of political science in Supaul based degree college.