In southwestern Bihar’s Sasaram (reserved) constituency, Meira Kumar, the daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister and eight-time MP Babu Jagjivan Ram, is battling to overcome not just her opponent — the BJP’s sitting MP Chhedi Paswan — but also the perception of being “an outsider”.
While the former Lok Sabha Speaker, contesting as the Congress candidate representing the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), invokes the legacy of her father on the campaign trail, Mr. Paswan pitches the contest as a fight between “ Dilli ki beti versus son of the soil”.
A former diplomat from the Indian Foreign Service and the first woman to become Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Ms. Kumar represented Sasaram in 2004 and 2009, while Mr. Paswan won in 1989, 1991 and 2014. BJP’s Munnilal was elected in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
“Meira Kumar is a good candidate but most of the time she lives in Delhi and at other places,” said Sridhar Chaudhury, a sexagenarian farmer of Chainpur. “She has no home in Sasaram and she hardly visits to interact with voters, while Chhedi Paswan is a local and we can approach him at any point of time,” he asserted.
However, Balram Tiwari of Mohania countered him. “Meira Kumar is a daughter of Sasaram… She doesn’t need a domicile certificate to prove her and her family’s connection with Sasaram,” he said. “It’s all Opposition parties’ dirty gameplan to declare her an outsider to gain electoral benefit. Didn’t she win elections twice from here?” asked Mr. Tiwari.
While voters voiced exasperation with Mr. Paswan’s performance, ease of access to their representative appeared to override the disappointment. “If you ask me about works done by the local MP in the last five years, I would say a big zero,” said Abhishek Singh, a resident of Sasaram town. “His son has been accused of taking commission in the MP Local Area Development Fund tenders but I will still vote for him as he is accessible and is being fielded by none other than our jaanbaaz (strong) PM Narendra Modi,” he said.
Mr. Modi addressed a rally in Sasaram on May 14. “The PM’s rally has strengthened Chhedi Paswan’s chances,” Mr. Singh added.
Mr. Paswan, though, has a reputation of being a ‘party hopper’. Several voters said that he had been in almost all political parties, except the Congress, for political and electoral gains.
In her interactions, Ms. Kumar constantly reminds the voters about the legacy of her father (‘Babuji’ as she refers to him) and the work undertaken by her to promote Sasaram’s development. The introduction of several trains and the revamping of the railway station, the Durgawati reservoir and the Indrapuri Dam are among the accomplishments she lists. While the foundation stone for the Durgawati major irrigation project was laid in 1976 by then Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Jagjivan Ram, it was completed only in 2018. She also talks about how she helped put Sasaram on the country’s tourist map.
Losing connect
A fair number of voters, though, appear unimpressed by Ms. Kumar’s campaign.
“Her only asset is the legacy of her father, Babu Jagjivan Ram; otherwise, she has been totally disconnected with the voters here,” rued Mahendra Chaudhury, a farmer with a small landholding in Chainpur.
BSP candidate Manoj Ram and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) nominee Ashok Baitha, too, could cut into the Congress vote bank. Sasaram is on the border with Uttar Pradesh and BSP leader Mayawati wields significant influence among the Scheduled Caste voters here.
“So, despite anti-incumbency, the BJP’s Chhedi Paswan seems comfortably positioned,” said Mr. Pandey.
