Bhagalpur, Oct. 20: The combination of essentials — bijli-sadak-pani (power, road and drinking water) — remains deficient in this ancient silk city. Little wonder then that they are major issues ahead of the Bhagalpur by-election.

Will Nitish Kumar be able to make any difference?

The answer is expected to determine the outcome of the by-poll, slated for November 6, to fill up the seat vacated by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Scorched in summer by erratic power supply and devastated during monsoon by floods, tales of despair are aplenty in the lives of the residents of this southeastern Bihar town. The district administration recently sent an SOS to the government seeking funds to the tune of Rs 6 crore for the repair of roads damaged by floods.

“Several blocks are still not connected with the district headquarters after the recent floods. We have no idea how to conduct the polls here,” a senior officer admitted before The Telegraph.

According to most veterans, the wheels of development in the town stopped rolling after Bhagwat Jha Azad, a Congress stalwart, was dethroned in 1989.

“Development here was synonymous with Azad, who represented Bhagalpur since 1957. NTPC’s Kahalgaon project, the Farakka barrage and a part of the Sahebganj loop of Eastern Railway were all started at his behest. He also brought different industries, such as modern food processing, spun silk and milk to the town. He also got the Ganga bridge started, which was completed in Lalu Prasad’s era,” Mukutdhari Agarwal, president of Eastern Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, recalled.

Even his political rivals admit Azad’s commitment to development. Noted philosopher Ramjee Singh, who defeated Azad in 1977, called him the last public representative to pursue development. “I rode the JP wave and won the seat. But I hardly did anything for the constituency,” he said.

Subodh Rai, the CPM MP in 1999 and also a candidate this time, holds the “Lalu raj” responsible for the “backwardness”. “I tried my best to make a difference but it all failed because of the indifference of the government, particularly Lalu Prasad,” he said.

The blame game continues unabated this year as well. Md Masih Khan, an RJD activist, accuses the BJP of appeasing the minorities and whipping up communal sentiments. The BJP, which has fielded Shahnawaz Hussain, is not bothered with genuine development issues, he claimed.