In Siwan, Nitish Gets the Praise, Can He Get the Votes?

In Siwan, torn by politics of caste and the legacy of crime, Nitish Kumar may have the upper hand.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressing an election rally in Gopalganj, Bihar. (Photo: PTI)

The four-hour drive from Patna to Siwan was uneventful and comfortable. “Nitish Kumar’s gift,” said our driver Raju Kumar, referring to the two-lane black top road. In Bihar, good roads are often a metaphor for good governance, especially if one wants to highlight any sign of it under Nitish Kumar’s tenure as Chief Minister.

Shahabuddin’s Shadow Lingers On

For years, Siwan, a Lok Sabha constituency with eight assembly seats, was known for its ex-MP Shahabuddin and his reign of terror.

Shahabuddin, a former RJD strongman, has been in prison since 2003 and is serving a life sentence for murder. But 12 years on, his shadow lingers. Pushed into oblivion during the JD(U)-BJP tenure, the formation of the Grand Alliance, or Mahagathbandhan, has brought him back into relevance and headlines find him on the same side of the political battle as Nitish. Even the BJP has fielded a former aide of Shahabuddin, Manoj Singh.

File photo of former RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin with his armed gunmen. (Photo: Vebidoo)

On camera and on the record, many people refuse to speak of Shahabuddin, or ‘Saheb’ as he is known in these parts, though some candidly admit that the atmosphere of fear has decreased marginally.

Fear of disturbance and allegations of threats to opponents forced the administration to move Shahabuddin out of Siwan jail to Bhagalpur before the elections began.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressing a rally at Mathuraganj, Siwan. (Photo: The Quint/Jaskirat Bawa)

Nitish’s Vikas vs Modi’s Vikas

Outside Nitish’s rally in Mathurapur in Siwan, at a jalebi stall, two people debated over who had a better ‘development’ agenda to offer—Nitish or Modi—prompted by our questions.

“Nitish has given us roads and electricity,” said one of them. “But only with BJP’s support”, added the person arguing in Modi’s favour.

There was one consensus though. That the law and order situation had improved under the JD(U)-BJP tenure.

Will Nitish-Lalu be able to continue that trend, we asked, only to be met with murmurs.

Cast(e)ing A Shadow on First Time Voters

Nitish Kumar, a namesake of the CM, is a BTech student who we met in Siwan’s Mahrajganj area. He is a first time voter and is adamant that the BJP’s loss was a done deal the day RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke against quotas. Nitish is from the SC/ST category. He and five of his friends, who we also met, believes that threat to the reservation system had overtaken ‘development’ as the main agenda for them in these elections.

File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at a political rally. (Photo: Reuters)

Nitish had little faith in PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah’s repeated assurances that the quota system won’t be affected, echoing his namesake’s poll rhetoric of ‘jumlebaazi’ and misleading promises by the BJP, including the return of black money.

The boys, all aged between 19 and 24, had to be prompted by a question to speak of ‘development’ as an election agenda.

<p>Development yes, but not at the cost of poor people who need the quota system for their upliftment.</p>

<p><b>First-time voter in Siwan </b></p>

Siwan has eight assembly seats of which Nitish Kumar’s campaign insiders candidly admit they may be able to win four. The outcome on November 8, many feel, will be a strong indicator of whether Siwan prefers to move out of the shadow of caste politics and the legacy of crime.

Our drive back to Patna from Siwan late in the evening was a rattling experience. Our driver had taken a detour to avoid the highway traffic and ended up taking us through a track littered with rocks and debris. Taking a break to stretch ourselves we asked why Nitish had not ‘gifted’ this area with good roads. “Uske liye unhen fir CM banaana hoga,” he responded.