NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the party’s youth icon Rahul Gandhi may be campaigning for the grand old party in Bihar.
But the party’s real stars in the coming Bihar polls, are three godmothers-Aruna Devi, Ranjita Ranjan and Lovely Anand-powerful women who have come to ‘lord’ over their husbands’ fiefdoms.
A look at the Congress candidate list shows the clout these three exerted on the AICC election committee members. While Rahul Gandhi managed to get only 12 tickets for his Youth Congress functionaries, Ranjita alone managed 17 for her supporters.
The Big-3 are being touted as the new Rabri Devis of the Congress party. Unlike their husbands, they are clean and articulate but grounded in Bihar’s politics of abductions, guns and castes.
Take for instance, Aruna Devi: the Congress poll managers seem smitten by her earthy appeal. Says one of them, “It’s difficult to believe that her husband has no less than 140 murder-cases against him. She is like a simple village woman-but with clout and appeal among the voters (caste)”.
The former LJP MLA is the wife of gangster, Akhilesh Singh. She is Congress’ candidate from Warsaliganj constituency in Nawada district. She has been looking after her husband’s fiefdom ever since he was convicted in a murder and abduction case.
The Congress claims her husband has been put behind bar in a fake case. It is another matter that record shows that Akhilesh Singh actually faked a bail and run away from jail. The Congress workers are diligently backing her since she didn’t corner seats for her supporters despite her area of influence.
But the Congress poll mangers are banking most on Ranjita Ranjan, wife of former MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav. So much so that the party has given 17 tickets to her supporters much to the annoyance of senior party workers.
Says a Congress leader, “She can not only win own her seat, she has influence over a large number of constituencies. She can be a key element in the election management”.
The former MP, Ranjita Ranjan, is contesting from Bihariganj seat in Madhepur district, while husband Pappu is languishing in jail in connection with a murder case.
The third muscle-woman also from Madhepura district, is Lovely Anand. Though she’s managed only four-five seats for her supporters, the party is counting on her to use her clout to win a few more seats.
She herself is contesting from Allamnagar while her husband, Anand Mohan, is serving life sentence. Mohan bludgeoned Gopalagunj district magistrate with a stone.