On the last day of campaigning for the third phase of polling, sitting MP and strongman of Madhepura, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, is running out time.
Braving intense summer heat, he hops onto a motorbike only to shift to an open-topped vehicle, followed by hundreds of motorcycle outriders and over a dozen SUVs, on his whistlestop dash through rural Bihar. Loudspeakers on the lead vehicle blare songs in praise of Mr. Yadav, set to popular Bhojpuri tunes.
Two hockey sticks are tied tightly to the roof of a dusty brown car that leads the motorcade. The hockey stick and ball is the symbol of Mr Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik).
Three-cornered fight
In a triangular contest in the Yadav-dominated Madhepura, Mr. Yadav is pitted against Mahagathbandhan nominee Sharad Yadav (RJD) and the NDA’s Dinesh Chandra Yadav (JD-U).
“The battle of Madhepura has basically turned a prestige battle between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad with Pappu Yadav playing spoiler,” say villagers.
“I Have come to remind you that it is only I who comes to your help whenever you need any sort of support. I’m one among you… aapka beta hu na (I’m your son),” Mr. Yadav tells a group of people in Keshavpur village. He greets villagers with folded hands and a smile despite the obvious fatigue, while his young supporters distribute leaflets. The caravan moves on amid chants of ‘Pappu Yadav zindabad!’
Local ‘Robin Hood’
Mr. Yadav is known here as the “Robin Hood of Madhepura” for his help to those in need of either medical support in Delhi, financial aid for marriages or even to lodge an FIR at local police stations.
“Unlike the two other candidates, he is a son of soil… and he really comes out to helps us,” say a group of villagers at Pastpar.
But, isn’t he known for his muscle power, a bahubali (strongman), in the local parlance? “Yes, but not for poor people like us. Now he is a mature politician,” says Samjhauta Yadav, a villager.
Asked the same question, Mr. Yadav wipes the sweat of his face and after a brief pause, says, “I’m dabaang and bahubali only for those who exploit the poor and common people, inflict injustice to them. And I believe in what I do come what may.”
Mr Yadav has weathered a brutal confrontation with Anand Mohan Singh, a Rajput strongman, which saw hundreds of people killed in caste clashes in the early nineties. The Kosi area of Madhepura, Saharsha, Supaul and Purnia was the epicentre of the battle for supremacy between the two. Mr. Singh is now serving term in Saharsha jail.
An hour later, Mr. Yadav’s carcade turns right from Manikpur chowk to reach Murliganj. “Today is the last day of campaign and I’ve to cover all these areas…have to meet everyone and the summer heat is also at its peak…time is really running out,” he says, waving to the crowds as his bike riding supporters shout slogans.
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