Bokaro, Feb. 20: The rivalry between the duo is nothing new for the voters. Both have control over trade union activities in the city. But now, a new dimension has been added to this decade-old rivalry ? it has spilled over to the electoral arena.
The two heavyweight of state politics ? Bachcha Singh and Samaresh Singh ? are locked in a fight in Bokaro, a seat which the latter had won in 2000 polls by a comfortable margin.
Bachcha Singh decided to contest from Bokaro this time on a RJD ticket instead of Jharia in Dhanbad ? he is the sitting legislator from Jharia ? as he did not want to fight against his sister-in-law Kunti Singh, who is contesting from the seat on a BJP ticket.
Bachcha Singh had deserted Janata Dal(U) and joined RJD before the elections.
The stakes are high for the duo. Not only because their political future would be in a jeopardy if they lose, there are apprehensions that their clout in Bokaro Steel Plant could wane if they do not win this seat. With huge investments planned in the steel plant for expansion and modernisation in near future, the duo is desperate to win the seat to ensure larger say in tenders and contracts for the steel plant?s future projects.
Naturally, both of them are going all out to convince the voters how ?misfit? the other would be as an MLA.
While Bachcha Singh is accusing Samaresh of doing nothing for Bokaro in his last tenure, the latter is pointing fingers at Bachcha not only as an ?outsider? but also for his links with mafia, an allegation that Bachcha Singh refuses outrightly.
Political analysts are of the view that the duo faces an uphill task as the Congress candidate, Isreal Ansari, has forced them on the back foot. ?Both of them are banking heavily on the muslim votes. But Ansari?s presence has created problems for the duo. It remains to be seen how much muslim votes they can garner in their favour,? said a political observer.
If the mood of the majority of the muslim voters, who had a big say in Samaresh?s victory last time, is anything to go by, then they are unhappy with him since he supported the BJP led NDA government to become a minister after the creation of Jharkhand.
For Bachcha Singh, a section of the upper caste non- Rajputs mafias based in Bokaro, are covertly manoeuvring to prevent him from winning since they apprehend that his win would make things difficult for them. They fear that since Bachcha Singh is a Rajput, this caste would call the shots if he wins. These elements are desperate to divide the Bihari votes constituting about 50,000.
Moreover, the Yadavs of the constituency are also a divided lot since a local Yadav candidate, Sadhu Charan Gope, is contesting on a Samajwadi Party ticket. The RJD candidate is facing problems in garnering the Yadav votes.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate, P.N. Pandey and the RJD rebel Akloo Ram Mahto, are creating problems for the duo in the rural belt of the constituency.
