Katihar, Oct. 18: Development is the buzz this Assembly elections at the Katihar seat.

Unlike previous elections, voters are not polarised on caste and religious issues this time. The mood appears to be totally different this time. Everyone, be it the candidates or the voters, all are talking about development only.

Different segments of the society have different development demands, though.

Chandan Sharma (28) who deals in electronic items, said: “I will vote for the candidate capable of ensuring regular power supply to the town. He should also be willing to work for its beautification.”

Commenting on the performance of the NDA government, he said: “The condition of roads has improved but lot more is desired if the present government wants to get full-fledged support of the voters.”

For Goda Yadav (65), a rickshaw-puller, lack of employment opportunities is a major problem for the people of the area. “Two of my sons have migrated to Punjab as they couldn’t find a suitable job even after studying up to matric. Something must be done on this front, else old people like us will have to live alone with their children living far away.”

Agrees social worker Arun Kumar Singh, who runs a non-government organisation in Katihar.

“Katihar used to be an industrial town. But this place has turned into a migration hub after the closure of the two jute mills. People go to places like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Maharshtra for jobs,” Singh said.

Instead of holding any particular political party responsible for this failure, Singh said though efforts had been made in the past 15 years to revive the glory of this place but for reasons best known to people holding power nothing has changed on the industrial front.”

Vijay Mall, a college teacher, differs. “Efforts have been made to reopen the closed jute mills. Soon both these mills will start functioning and provide employment opportunities to people of the area.”

R.K. Sharma (69), a retired driver of Indian Railways, opined that dearth of good candidates was one the reasons why issues concerning Katihar couldn’t draw the attention of successive governments which ruled the state in the past two decades.

“Having tested these governments I now strongly believe that the voters of this constituency should support the candidate whom they believe to be capable of raising their voices instead of getting bogged down by the issues dear to their respective political parties,” Sharma said.

The traders of the city appear to be more than happy with what has taken place in Bihar in the past five years.

“Unlike past when people used to hesitate in spending money fearing extortion calls from musclemen, the flow of money in the local market has increased manifold. It has been a boon for the trading community here,” said Gopi Kumar Tambakuwala, whose family deals in consumer goods and medicines. Tambakuwala is an active member of Katihar Chamber of commerce.

Even some Muslim traders appear to be happy with what has happened in the past five years. “A lot of developments have taken place in the past five years and it has positively affected the lives of people of all the communities,” said Mohammed Shamshad, who runs a cosmetics shop in Katihar’s Sharifganj locality.

There are, however, a good chunk of minority voters, who still are not willing to open their cards as far as their preferences are concerned.

“Why should I reveal my preferences when there is provision of secret ballot,” said one Dilshad of the same locality.

Amid these varied views, the contestants are busy convincing voters to garner their support. BJP sitting MLA Tarkishore Prasad is busy listing the works done by him for the constituency in the past five years.

His main opponent, RJD’s Ram Prakash Mahto, is leaving no stone unturned in convincing people that the seat required a strong representative who could raise their voice before the state government.

“Tarkishore is a weak candidate and people having witnessed my commitment when I represented the seat in the past would vote for me in hoards,” he said.

Mahto, however, is wary of NCP candidate Bhai Shamsuddin. In 2005, he got 18,000 votes. It proved a major factor in RJD losing the seat.

“I hope the minority voters will not repeat the same thing this Assembly elections and will extend full support to our party,” he said.

According to a rough estimate, there are about 45,000 Muslim voters in this Assembly segment. The total number of voters is a above 2 lakh. Though the fate of the seat would be known only towards the end of November, going by the past track record, one should not be surprised if this seat again witnesses a close contest.