Ballia votes & hopes for change

BALLIA: If not for anti-incumbency, people in Ballia on Saturday voted for a change. They queued up at the polling stations, partly disgusted with the state of affairs and partly wondering if the change of preference would bring any relief to them.
“I am not sure if things will change, but they have to change for sure,'' said 70-year-old Suresh Prasad Dhusia who stood in a long queue at a polling station in Laxmipur village of Phephana constituency where Samajwadi Party MLA Ambika Chaudhary faces a tough contest to retain his seat.
Dhusia, a retired lecturer, has seen many politicians in his region. ``There has to be a limit to everything,'' he said. In fact, the wind of change hit the district even as Bahujan Samajwadi Party supremo Mayawati cancelled the candidature of all elected MLAs from the district. Out of eight constituencies, BSP had won six in the last election while the remaining two went to SP. This time as the number of constituencies has increased to seven post-delimitation.
``They (elected MLAs) never showed up even during party campaigns this time. And that's understood. What would have they said if people had asked them what they did for the constituencies,'' said Ram Sahej, a native of Phephana village. As he waited for his turn at the polling booth, Sahej was quick to ask: ``You might have seen only the main road. Go inside the village and see what has happened all these years,'' he said.
Ballia was the bastion of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar.
``But he is no more and so things have changed (for worse),'' said Sahej. Owing to the poor state of affairs voters here do not have much hope from politicians. ``They do not have time for us. You can meet them only if you have connections,'' said Santosh Kumar Rajbhar, a voter in Bansdih constituency where the contest is between Baccha Pathak of Congress, Ram Govind of Samajwadi Party and Badey Lal of BSP.
The first-time voters, however, are confident of a change. ``Let us vote. Change will be there,'' said 20-yearold Soni as she stood in a long queue at a polling booth in Rasda constituency. The seat is witnessing a close between Sanatan of SP and Uma Shankar of BSP. Sanatan had to shift from Chilkahar constituency when it was scrapped following delimitation.
Elections 2012 News
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2012