| Friday , November 21 , 2014 |
Maa-Modi-manush vs hoax cry | |||
| VIJAY DEO JHA | |||
Latehar, Nov. 20: BJP’s Latehar nominee Brajmohan Ram’s fractured left hand is cast in plaster from his accident six days ago, but the seasoned politician who has been both MP and MLA in the past, knows that some poll campaigns deserve ambulance runs. As Latehar goes to polls on November 25, the first phase of Assembly elections, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits village Chandwa, part of Ram’s constituency, tomorrow, the man knows this is one such time. Ram, the BJP’s last-minute choice for the reserved SC seat after the party denied sitting BJP MLA Baidyanath Ram a ticket for reasons best known to it and cancelled Narayan Bhokta’s candidature for his alleged rebel links, started campaigning for the first time today after his November 14 accident. As he meets people at Naxalite-hit pockets like Loto, Pochra and Dihi of the underdeveloped constituency in his ambulance, The Telegraph correspondent notices a big stack of painkillers. “I have to take them four times a day,” Ram says. Ram was at a private hospital in Ranchi where steel plates were inserted on his left hand. He bullied his doctor into releasing him yesterday, he added, wincing. A speeding lorry had hit Ram’s vehicle, killing two of his associates and injuring one. “It was a conspiracy to kill me. I had told the district administration in advance that I might face a threat but they ignored it. My opponents masterminded it. My vehicle was tossed 10 feet in air. My bodyguard Hiramani and party worker Ranjan Paswan lay dying before me. My driver Raju Thapa is still battling for his life. He is my son and god for me on earth who saved my life. I can sell my property for his treatment,” said an emotional Ram. “I survived due to the blessings of goddess Durga and my janata bhagwan,” he added. This janata bhagwan, whose votes Ram needs, seem very sympathetic to the fractured hand and the ambulance in this unusual poll campaign. “I needed to be with my people. I visited goddess Ugratara at Nagar with my wife (Leela Devi) and supporters. I took the blessings of my mother (Sohari Devi), too. What is pain? The mind can conquer pain,” Ram justified the drill. He also tells each person he meets or talks to over the phone: “Unlogon se badla lijiye jinhone mujhe jaan se marne ki koshish ki. Mujhe nayi jindgi mili hai. Bhagwati ki kripa se main bach gaya (Take revenge on those who tried to finish me off. I got a new life thanks to god).” Apart from Ram, there are eight candidates contesting from Latehar. Ram’s main rivals are Mohan Ganjhu of the JMM, said to be the brother of MCC (left-wing group) area commander Ravindra Ganjhu, RJD’s Vijay Kumar and JVM’s Prakash Ram. Left-wing groups call out for poll boycotts in rebel stronghold Latehar. What is less public is that they play a key role in influencing the elections by tilting towards one or the other candidate. Will the MCC throw its weight behind JMM’s Ganjhu? Nobody is sure or willing to speak. BJP workers in hushed whispers allege the JMM’s candidate is seeking the MCC’s help. And what will be the strategy of another outlawed group TPC whose cadres are in bloody battle with the MCC? But, if rebels hope to have some hand in Latehar’s victory, Ram is sure that Prime Minister Modi’s speech tomorrow at Chandwa, possibly Latehar’s best-known village for its doomed industrial dream, would wash away “any opposition”. Tomorrow, Modi will address the poll rally at Devi Mandap Ground, Chandwa. Ram will play his part tomorrow, he promised. “I will tell my people what happened to me on the day of the accident. I was about to be killed. I will tell the people tomorrow,” he said, adding in an aside to his ambulance driver Kallu Mandal, “chalte rahiye chalte rahiye (keep moving)”. Naturally, the million-dollar question of “who did it” was posed to Ram. But, he refrained from giving any scoop. Instead, he only smiled enigmatically. Apart from the sympathy wave, what is his poll plank? “Latehar is undeveloped, no industry, no college, no employment. Development is my main agenda. The BJP is going to win by a margin of not less than 20,000 votes,” he said. Asked whether Narayan Bhokta, ousted at the last minute, is harbouring ill will towards him, Ram said: “Earlier he was unhappy but I explained that he lost ticket due to his misfortune. Bhoktaji is campaigning for me.” At the end of a gruelling schedule, Ram, wearing the garlands of his supporters, came back to the ambulance to pop his medicines — Sermax-D, Gravity Gl, Travexel and Triozac. He asked close associate Manish to adjust his sling. If the banners, posters, flags and campaign vehicles can be taken as indicators in Latehar, then it seems like a two-cornered fight between the BJP and the JMM. But, Ram dismisses them as a mere noise who will be washed way in the “Narendra Modi tide”. Finally, Ram lets on his secret winning formula. “Maa (goddess Durga), Modi andmanush (people) are with me. I am banking on them.” Mamata Banerjee’s influence, Mr Ram? http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141121/jsp/frontpage/story_19068328.jsp#.VG6oEtKUeSo |
