People waiting to 'feel good'

FORBESGANJ: With a few days left for the Lok Sabha polls in Araria (SC) parliamentary constituency, almost all the parties have intensified their poll campaign. But the response of the common electorate remains passive.
There is little evidence of the characteristic pre-election scenario as not much enthusiasm is seen in the area. Araria is, in fact, one of the most backward areas of the country and is yet to see the light of development due to careless attitude of politicians.For people, who are deprived of basic amenities, “Swadeshi�, “Videshi� or even scams and corruption do not make too much of sense. Like previous elections, backwardness would force majority of people to vote on caste lines.
A random survey of more than a dozen villages of Forbesganj, Araria, Narpatganj and Raniganj assembly segment of Araria parliamentary constituency revealed that political activists are trying to fool people with their estimates about who is winning and with what margin. The electorate, on the other hand, seems to be quiet about his preferences.
“All political party leaders are least interested in the development of their area. They are busy furthering their own interests,� said Binod Saraoji, the joint secretary at east zone of Bihar Chemists & Druggists Association.
Kishore Rai, a tea-stall owner in Forbesganj, said he would prefer to be at his tea stall to earn a few pennies instead of queuing up for hours to exercise his franchise as he thinks that elections would not change his fate anyway. “Elections only harm and do not benefit common man,� he philosophised. Rai was also not aware that votes would be cast using EVMs this time.
Ashok Kumar Jha of Araria said, “Had the politicians taken care of people’s hardships, they would have found it convenient to seek their support.�
Champy, a student, opined that politics and political leaders have lost their character and ideology. “A candidate can no longer dupe his voters. Opportunistic alliances and coalitions, pre-poll manipulations and false election promises have eroded the credibility of the political parties,� she said.
Punya Nand, a farm labourer of Mirdaul village under Narpatganj block, said that there was no employment opportunity for agricultural labourers of the area and hence they were forced to migrate to far-off places. “The politicians should first do something for us and only then should they come and seek votes�, he stated.
Md Vizam, a rickshaw-puller of Jogbani is also indifferent. “Elections or no elections, our fate will remain doomed,� he mused, adding, the person who will be elected would change his own fate but not of the commoners.Interestingly, he doesn’t know who are the candidates and which parties are in the fray.
“Though the country has entered into the 21st century, this part of the state is in 18th century. What difference will it make to the people whether the PM is of Indian origin or foreign origin ?� asked Sunita Agarwal, a housewife, adding, “All the PMs of the country so far were Indians but they never cared for the people of this remote area�. She said that Vajpayee was undoubtedly a good man and an able administrator but people here crave for development and are looking for the day when the “feel-good� factor would reach them.
An eminent physician of Araria, Dr B P Verma is sad about the condition prevailing in the area even after 57 years of independence. “It is an irony that a village merely two miles away from the district headquarters which could be reached within 15 minutes about 40 years ago now requires two hours to be reached because of broken bridges and roads,� he remarked.