Ajit Sharma in Bhagalpur. Picture by Amit Kumar

Bhagalpur, Aug. 28: Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the newly elected Congress MLA from Bhagalpur, Ajit Sharma, claimed he would prefer to work as a labourer to pave the way for development.

After Modi’s landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, he had said: “I work like a mazdoor (labourer). I am Mazdoor Number One. The country will not get a mazdoor like me in the coming 60 months. I will work day in and day night for welfare of 1.25 billion people of my country.”

Sharma, who earlier tried his luck five times in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls, managed to capture the Bhagalpur seat this time, has intensified his campaigns.

“It’s a matter of regret that a vast population in Bhagalpur city still have to carry drinking water on their heads daily after walking 2 to 2.5km. Poor people don’t have drinking water facility. The city has been turned into an island owing to snapping of road connectivity after bridges were damaged. The roads have become fatal and there are lots of problems like health, hygiene, education and others,” he said.

He also lambasted his predecessor, veteran BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who represented this seat since 1995.

“He failed to address these basic problems during his 24-year-long tenure. Even BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain, who represented this Lok Sabha seat for over eight years, failed to provide essential services. With their well-manipulated marketing skills, they have fooled the innocent voters for years,” Sharma alleged.

Sharma said that on Wednesday he had spoken with state road construction minister and requested him to visit Bhagalpur immediately with top ranking officials so that work on dilapidated roads and damaged bridges could be started soon.

“I requested the minister to survey the situation. He assured me of taking necessary steps to repair the roads. To my surprise, the minister said the state headquarters was unaware of the situation in Bhagalpur,” he said.

Sharma has started visiting areas and assuring people of solving problems. “People have started co mplaining about faulty ration cards, inflated bills and large-scale irregularities by the private electricity company, drinking water problems, drainage, traffic jam and other difficulties here,” he admitted.