80-year-old Benudhar Barik seeks mandate, voters touch his feet

Though people like Benudhar contest elections and go unnoticed amidst the high voltage campaigns, he thinks otherwise.
Benudhar Barik campaigning in a village in Balasore district. (Photo | EPS)
Benudhar Barik campaigning in a village in Balasore district. (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: It is a common sight to see candidates seeking votes with folded hands during elections. But when this 80-year-old independent candidate in fray for Balasore Sadar bypoll moves out for campaigning, people touch his feet. 

Benudhar Barik, the eldest among six candidates in race for the bypoll, is a resident of Gudipada in Balasore town. A barber by profession, Benudhar spent nearly five decades of his life under a tree giving haircuts to people. At the fag end of his life, he is out to save the society, which according to him is crumbling due to large scale corruption and high-handedness of rich and mighty people. 

“I am in the fray because of the people of my area who are in distress and neglected. They insisted me to contest and I have their support, which is my strength,” he says. This, however, is not Benudhar’s first election. Earlier he had unsuccessfully contested in the civic body elections around a decade back. The octogenarian feels leaders cutting across party line make promises that are never fulfilled. “There should be Right to Promise Act on the lines of Right to Information and Education. Those who fail to keep promises should not get the chance to contest polls again,” he says.

A look into his poll affidavit reveals Benudhar, a father of four, did not go to school but can write and read. He does not own land neither does he have any savings. He has borrowed `10,000 for his poll deposit. 

He took to combs and scissors to support his family when he was only 18-year-old. Unable to earn more in his native Bishnupur village under Bahanaga block, he moved to Balasore in 1945. Since then he has become a pillar of support for the poor and downtrodden of Gudipada. After the demise of his wife 35 years back, social service has been his way of life.

While nominees fielded by political outfits try to assuage voters with loaded promises, which they hardly keep, Benudhar believes in execution of work. He has helped people get BPL cards, old age pension and benefits under welfare schemes besides getting tube-wells installed in villages.  “He is a familiar face in our locality. Be it marriage or funerals when family members get their head shaved, ‘Benudhar mausa’ is the most sought after. He has helped us in many ways. I always touch his feet and seek his blessings. He may not be a high profile neta, but we will vote for him,” says Laxmipriya Behera, a local.   

Though people like Benudhar contest elections and go unnoticed amidst the high voltage campaigns, he thinks otherwise. “Why cannot I win the by-election? People vote for those who can come to their rescue during time of crisis. In the past, leaders have cheated people. I can fulfil their aspirations if voted to power,” he sums up.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com