Bihar assembly elections 2015: Underdeveloped Pirpainty yearns for ‘Vikas’

PIRPAINTY (Bhagalpur): Beset with underdeveloped infrastructures, miserable roads, crime in diara (riverine) areas, poor electricity, potable drinking water, problems related to transportation of food grains and farm produces like mango and sugarcane, Pirpainty assembly segment, always been overshadowed by neighbouring Kahalgaon assembly where the situation is no better, yearns for 'Vikas'.
Pirpainty, which swapped between Congress and CPI representatives since 1952 and barring 2000 (RJD), 2005 (RJD) and 2010 (BJP), doesn’t present a picture of ‘Vikas’ (development) till date. Whereas issues troubling the electorates since Independence in the country remain same even after 68-years of freedom.
The winners since independence included 1952 (Siyaram Singh -Congress), 1957 (Ramjanam Mahato - Congress), 1962 (Baikunth Ram -Congress), 1967 (Ambika Prasad - CPI), 1969 (Ambika Prasad - CPI), 1972 (Ambika Prasad - CPI), 1977 (Ambika Prasad - CPI), 1980 (Dilip Kumar Sinha - Congress), 1985 (Dilip Kumar Sinha - Congress), 1990 (Ambika Prasad - CPI), 1995 (Ambika Prasad - CPI), 2000 (Shobhakant Mandal - RJD), 2005 (Shobhakant Mandal - RJD) and 2010 (Aman Paswan - BJP).
Major issues are extremely bad condition of NH-80 passing through the constituency beside other roads including connecting road between KhSTPS(NTPC)-Barahat-Lalmatia, power crisis despite of NTPC unit at nearby Kahalgaon, irrigation, hampered rural electrification work, unemployment and migration of labour force.
Pirpainty, being a high-yielding agriculture area, famous for food grain yields as well as luscious mangoes produce from the hundreds’ of orchard spread in thousands of acres of land, yearns for excellent road connectivity and rail communication network for transporting of horticulture produces to major trading places like Kolkata and Malda (west Bengal) and Jharkhand besides in the state.
Demand for making Pirpainty an administrative sub-division being echoed, for solving problems, remains unattended since several decades and people now want firm assurance from political parties. At present Pirpainty comes under Kahalgaon Sub-Division.
It would be very interesting to watch whether there is polarization of votes on caste lines before polls and the peoples’ issues would is relegated to background or something good comes out from the election medley this time.
The main contestant in Pirpainty assembly constituency are Ramvilas Paswan (RJD-mahagathbandhan), Lallan Paswan (BJP-NDA), RJD rebel Sunil Paswan (Jan Adhikar Party of Pappy Yadav’s third front) in a predominantly Kurmi, Muslim, Yadav and Kharwar caste population besides SC, ST and others.
Interestingly, BJP could register win for the first time in 2010 after the constituency was reserved for SC subsequent to delimitation exercise. Aman Paswan had opened the account for BJP in 2010 but was now replaced by Lallan Paswan.
Satyadevesh Prasad, a retired schoolteacher, says that we have been looking for ‘Vikas’ (development), but in vain so far. Each election same issues gets raked-up and after it is over nothing reaches the people, bemoans he saying so it seems that it again will be ‘caste’ not ‘vikas’ that will matter. Bad for the state, he quipped.