Kushwaha seeks one more chance

KARAKAT: The ongoing Lok Sabha election is crucial for RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, who is contesting from Ujiarpur against state BJP chief Nityanand Rai and in Karakat against JD(U) candidate Mahabali Singh. Election in Ujiarpur is over and its due in Karakat on May 19.

Kushwaha, whose RLSP is a partner of the Grand Alliance in Bihar, starts his day at 11am and moves around villages and holds nukkad sabhas (roadside meetings). “The NDA candidate (Mahabali) keeps moving around with a bowl in hand for votes. When I had come here in 2014, I had fought with the chief minister and this time my fight is with the PM. I do not care about small opponents. I take on CMs and PMs,” said Kushwaha at one such meeting on Tuesday as if to impress upon the electorate that his JD(U) rival was no match for him.

Villagers greet Kushwaha with garlands and ‘Upendra Kushwaha zindabaad’ slogan. Accepting that he couldn’t do much, Kushwaha, in one of the meetings, said, “Give Upendra Kushwaha one more chance and I will complete all the pending works. I am myself not happy with what I could do in the last five years, but you all know how the Centre was working. They did not let me work. They (NDA) have destroyed everything, including education, health system and the overall employment scenario.”

Abhishek, a 22-year-old graduate and a first-time voter, was listening to Kushwaha with rapt attention. When asked who he thinks will make it to the end, he said, “We have only one leader and Kushwaha-ji is from our caste.”

However, it is not so clear for some. Upendra Singh, a 40-year-old worker, said, “All leaders are thieves. They come and beg for votes, but when it comes to filling our stomach, they make some or the other excuse.”

However, Kushwaha reiterated to TOI, “I couldn’t work when I was in the NDA. Forget about me, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah do not even listen to leaders like Rajnath Singh.”

He also said upon victory, his focus would be on development. “My area of focus would primarily be development and also to ensure that the backward class people get equal opportunities in every field.