Left parties lick the dust

BEGUSARAI: The CPI holding four seats, has been reduced to half, whereas the, CPM possessing one seat, has been reduced to nil, in the just-concluded assembly polls in Begusarai. The RJD emerged as the single largest party adding three more to its previous tally of one. The NDA and BJP''s nominee, Bhola Singh, however, saved the face of the party by winning the Begusarai assembly seat.The CPI occupying Bachhwara and Bakhari seats for three successive terms, lost to the NDA nominees by a slender margin of 458 and 561 votes respectively. The CPI sitting nominee from Bachhwara, Awadhesh Roy, polled 28,926 votes against the RJD nominee, Uttam Yadav, who secured 29,381 votes. The Congress had fileded its state general secretary, Ramdeo Roy, from there who stood third by securing 28,764 votes. In the Bakhari segment, the CPI sitting nominee, Ram Vinod Paswan, lost by securing 32,988 votes to the RJD nominee, Ramanand Ram, who polled 33549 votes. The CPI succeeded in retaining its Matihani and Barauni seats where its nominees Rajendra Rajan and Rajendra Singh won by a margin of 6,716 and 6,285 votes respectively. Matihani nominee polled 32,962 votes against his nearest rival, the Congress nominee, Pramod Kumar Sharma, who could secure 26,245 votes. The CPM, possessing the only seat in the district for three consecutive terms, lost when its sitting nominee, Rajendra Prasad Singh stood third by securing only 14,557 votes. The seat has been won by the BJP nominee, Bhola Singh, who got 51,501 votes against the CPI nominee, Kamli Mahto who polled 43,152 votes. CPI while analysing the results for the debacle of the party in the district, alleged caste based politics and pro-RJD trend of the administration as the reasons for its down fall. The CPM on the otherhand, alleged the CPI for its defeat in Begusarai segment as the party by fielding its nominee paved the way for the BJP. The CPI has also protested the poll results of Bakhari and Bachhwara segments and has demanded recounting. According to political observers there has been erosion in the vote banks of Left parties in the district on account of their pro and anti-RJD policy adopted very often and diversion from their basic principles.