Bread and butter issue tops Aurangabad wishlist

Aurangabad: As one travels on the Grand Trunk Road to reach the district headquarters of Aurangabad, some 170kms from the state capital, green paddy fields are a delight to the eyes. A closer look, however, reveals that the crop is on the verge of drying up due to insufficient rains in the district, which is part of the rice bowl of Bihar.
As beef, rishi-munis (saints), apart from caste politics occupy centre stage in Bihar assembly election 2015, this agro-based district, flanked by Jharkhand's Palamu district on the one side and Bihar's Gaya, Arwal and Rohtas districts on the other, has been languishing for want of proper irrigation facilities for decades.Work on construction of the multi-crore North Koel irrigation project, which would irrigate 1.24 lakh hectares of land in Bihar and Palamu on completion, has been hanging fire since the 1970s. “For 40 years, we have been waiting for this project to come through. If we had enough water for our paddy fields, there would hardly have been unemployment or need for migration in the district, said Jitender Singh, a farmer in Deo. The project is yet to see light of the day as it would submerge a number of villages falling under the Palamu Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Jharkhand.
With election round the corner, Union minister for forest, environment and climate change, Prakash Javedkar visited the Mandal dam site in Latehar district in August-end and promised to make the project a reality soon. However, though national leaders are talking about the project, local candidates are more focused on rural road connectivity to other districts of Bihar, health and education. “This district could do with more schools, colleges and a proper healthcare network,” said Raju Paswan, a collegian.
Like in other parts of Bihar, the Aurangabad assembly constituency, which includes Aurangabad and Deo block, is witnessing a keen fight between the NDA and the Grand Alliance and voters as well as the parties are well aware that it is either now or never. Half of the total 20 candidates are independents, mostly those disgruntled for not having got the party ticket. “We are working overtime to convince our voters that there is an urgent need for change of guard in the state, so that development takes place here,” said Colonel Dr Sanjay Kumar Singh, BJP election in charge in Aurangabad. BJP chief Amit Shah and other Union ministers are visiting the constituency almost every day, hammering the development plank into the minds of the voters. Sitting BJP MLA Ramadhar Singh, is facing the anti-incumbency sting but expects to sail through after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
Issues or no issues, voters are distinctly divided on caste lines in this assembly segment, also known as Chittorgarh, with dominance of the upper caste Rajputs. However, Yadavs, Kushwahas, Koeris and Paswans together with Muslims constitute a fair chunk of the population.
“The beef controversy has certainly hurt sentiments in the villages, but for us urbanites it is a direct contest between Modi and Nitish — be it on the lines of caste or development,” said Nikhil Kushwaha, a state government employee.
The call for poll boycott by the CPI (Maoists) in almost all assembly segments of the district looms large over the election. Maoists have triggered landmine blasts and held encounters in the recent past killing security personnel. “There are sufficient security personnel, including central forces, to ensure peaceful election,” said Aurangabad SP, Babu Ram, adding that anti-Maoist operations are also underway to check them in the forests and bordering areas.
So will the best man win?