Munna Shukla sure of victory

MUZAFFARPUR: The only feeling hegenerates among the people is that of fear. None dares to speak against him inVaishali or even Muzaffarpur where he lives in a palatialhouse.Lalganj MLA Vijay Kumar Shukla, better known as Munna Shukla,has 17 criminal cases against him and he is currently out on bail. He isfighting the Lok Sabha (LS) elections from Vaishali as an independent candidate.This man has "110 per cent" confidence that he would win the LS seatfrom Vaishali defeating RJD vice president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh who isseeking his fourth term from there."Mahnar ke anerua (readRaghuvansh who is a native of Mahnar) ko aur Madhubani ke bhagerua (readHarendra Kumar the JD(U) nominee, a native of Madhubani) ko Vaishali ki jantajhadoo mar kar bhaga degi," he said, adding: "Jhopdi se le kar mahal tak yehawaaz aa rahi hai ki Vaishali ke logon ko kendriya satta mein Vaishali ka vanshchahiye, Raghuvansh nahi".He says that for the past 36 years,outsiders have been ruling here and they have done the worst damage. "They havebrought casteism and created divisions in the society here," hesays.He is not ashamed about his criminal history or about beingcalled a muscleman. "If I have to become a muscleman for my prestige andself-respect, I don''t mind it at all." Though he is charged with anumber of murders, he says he has not even killed an ant in his life.He, however, gets angry when told that he was also involved in casesof kidnapping and loot. "Main hatya kar sakta hoon par chori, dakaiti aurapharan nahi," he says.He doesn''t have any qualms about murderinganyone, if need be. "Jab Krishna bhagvaan itne sare logon ko maar kar chale gayeto main kya cheez hoon," he philosophises."My father and brother,besides seven other family members, were murdered. No one objected then. People,who are jealous about me contesting the polls here and want to curtail my socialstatus, have conspired to fix me in as many cases. However, I don''t fearanyone," he says. He also gets angry when he is reminded that he isfighting the election as an independent candidate since he was refused ticketsby parties. "Saarey dal me daldal hai. Aur Munna Shukla paanch saalse nirdal hai," he says, adding, "Munna wo wajood hai jo kisi ke gale se niglanahi jayega". He swings his head and hands vigorously while hespeaks and also keeps twirling his moustaches from time to time. His supportersclap happily at each line he says.