Blood is thicker than development for most residents of Parsauni Mahadalit tola in Sitamarhi district.
"Abhi tak hum dusre ke liye vote karte aaye hain. Lekin isbar hum apne log ke liye vote karenge (Till now, we had been voting for someone else. But this time we will vote for someone from our own community)," said Kajli Devi (45) of Parsauni Mahadalit tola on the Sitamarhi-Belsand road.
For the 300-odd families of the Musahar caste in the village, around 15km south of Sitamarhi, it's time to support their "own" leader - new Mahadalit icon and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Though Manjhi is not in the fray from any of the constituencies in Sitamarhi district, his allies LJP and RLSP have fielded candidates from Runnisaidpur, Bajpatti, Sursand and Belsand. The BJP is contesting from four seats - Riga, Bathnaha, Sitamarhi and Parihar. "We will not accept our leader's insult," Raman Manjhi (32) said, hinting at Jitan Ram's removal from the top post earlier this year.
The women voters were more aggressive and vocal. Sugani Devi (41) said: "Dalit girls are misbehaved with and boys beaten up when they go to school. The school has been shifted from this tola (hamlet), leaving Mahadalits in the lurch. We have stopped sending our children to school."
At Parsauni Bazaar, there is no much activity despite it being a festive season. Parsauni police station house officer (SHO) Rambabu Prasad Yadav said the administration had declared the entire area hypersensitive from the security point of view. The area is a Maoist stronghold. "I have not slept ever since I assumed charge six months ago. You are not safe even during daytime," Rambabu said.
About 3km from Parsauni Bazar, Paswan tola is dominated by Ram Vilas Paswan's caste. His LJP has fielded Nasir Ahmed from Belsand. "Though he is a Muslim, we will vote for him as he is our leader's choice," said octogenarian Bhola Paswan. Ramji Prasad (30), another resident, however, said: "Voting for a Muslim candidate is a strict no-no. Had the NDA fielded a non-Muslim candidate, preferably one from our caste, we wouldn't have thought for a second before voting for him."
Lalbabu Yadav, of Rain Karka village, said the RJD's Muslim-Yadav voter base was intact in Belsand, once considered former Union minister and RJD MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh's bastion. The Grand Alliance has given tickets to sitting JDU MLA Sunita Singh while former BJP MLC Baidyanath Prasad is in the fray as an Independent.
A few miles away from Belsand, two-term JDU MLA Guddi Chaudhary is contesting from Runnisaidpur segment as a Samajwadi Party candidate after Nitish denied her a ticket. The Grand Alliance seat went to the RJD, which has fielded Mangita Devi, daughter-in-law of former MLA Bhola Rai. The NDA has fielded Pankaj Kumar Mishra of the RLSP.
Girija Devi (43), a ward member and Morsand resident, said the Mahadalits would vote for Pankaj. "Nobody is there to listen to grievances of the poor here," she rued. There is neither power nor schools in the area, mostly inhabited by Mahadalits.
Vijay Singh (54), who was till recently associated with the CPI(ML), said that while the Muslims and Yadavs were backing the Grand Alliance, upper caste, Dalit and Mahadalit voters are inclined towards the NDA. "The mahagathbandhan and NDA candidates are trying to rope in several castes, sub-castes and factions of the OBC into their fold," he said.
Bhumihars, Brahmins and Yadavs are in large numbers in this constituency. "Sitting MLA Guddi Devi has carried out a lot of development work in the constituency. But this time we are not going to support her in the changed political scenario," Morsand resident Harinarayan Singh (55) said.
There are eight Assembly seats in Sitamarhi district. In Riga, Amit Kumar Tunna of the Congress is locked in a direct contest with sitting BJP MLA Motilal Prasad. Non-payment of dues to farmers by the Riga Sugar Mill Company Limited is a major poll issue at Riga. Tazuddin Haider Khan alias Naushad Khan is contesting on a Samajwadi Party ticket from here.
In Parihar, the RJD has fielded former minister Ram Chandra Purbey against the BJP's Gayatri Devi, wife of former BJP MLA Ram Naresh Yadav who has been convicted in a case related to firing at the Sitamarhi collectorate.
In Bathnaha, the BJP has fielded its two-term MLA Dinkar Ram, who faces a stiff contest from former minister Surendra Ram who is contesting on a Congress ticket.
Former Bihar minister Mohammad Shahid Ali Khan is the HAMS candidate from Sursand. Shahid, the sitting MLA, is credited with several development works in the constituency, including renovation of Sursand and Pupri hospitals. Abu Dozana is the RJD candidate from here.
Sugarcane minister and JDU candidate Ranju Geeta is locked in a direct contest with the RLSP's Rekha Kumari Gupta in Bajpatti constituency.
Geeta is the sitting MLA from Bajpatti. In Sitamarhi (Town) constituency, the BJP has fielded former minister and four-time MLA Sunil Kumar Pintu, who is pitted against the RJD's Sunil Kumar Kushwaha. Former LJP MLA Nageena Devi and Shahin Parween are fighting as Independents from this seat.
Chulhayi Sah, a native of Runnisaidpur, aptly summed up the scenario in Sitamarhi: "If there is any raj in Sitamarhi, it is caste raj. People vote here on caste lines and nothing else."
• Sitamarhi voted on Nov. 1
