Kalyan Bigha, Nalanda: A referral hospital, a bank, a police station, a shooting range, a power substation, government middle and high schools — the Kalyan Bigha village in Bihar’s Nalanda district has all these indicators of development. Over a long period of time, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has developed his native village into a model one.
But the desire for ‘badlaav’ and ‘parivartan’ looms in the air of Kalyan Bigha. Vote or no vote, the supporters in Kumar’s village share Bihar’s anger over lack of jobs and corruption.
The voices rising from here could be an indication of the level of unhappiness that people in the state have with the government over the twin issues that Grand Alliance’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav has campaigned on.
“Nitish ji has really transformed the village there is no doubt about it. The kind of work our village has witnessed is unparalleled. Imagine a village which not only has two schools, banks, police stations but also its own power station. Nitish ji has transformed the village,” says 40-year-old Rinki Devi, a resident of the village.
Asked what else the government needs to focus on, Devi says: “Education is an important area which is being ignored by the government. It is only when people are educated will they get a good job.”
Maina Manti, 45, says while they did suffer due to the lockdown, the government alone can’t be held responsible. “The village has been developed as much as it could. Now the focus should be on ensuring people have enough opportunities to earn a livelihood,” she says.
Kalyan Bigha falls under the Harnaut assembly segment and it would be fair to call it Nitish Kumar’s bastion. He won his first assembly election here in 1985, and repeated his success in 1995.
Currently, the constituency is represented by JD(U) leader Harinarayan Singh, who is once again contesting the elections exuding confidence of win.
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‘There will be change this time’
A section of the Kalyan Bigha residents point out that there is a possibility of change this time even as they want the CM to get his priorities “right”. Some don’t hesitate to suggest what Nitish Kumar should focus on, but government workers shy away from airing their grievances publicly.
“Is baar parivartan hoga (there will be change). Elections for the first time are being fought on real issues of unemployment and corruption. The MLA of this constituency has not even bothered to visit us in the past 15 years. Is this how you run the government?” asks a 31-year-old government employee, who did not wish to be identified.
“If this is the state of his own native village, wonder what must be happening in other parts of the state,” he says. Another public servant says there is immense corruption even at the block level.
Many in the village also say that some parts are not as developed as the rest, depending on who lived where in this Kurmi-majority village.
With Kurmis, the caste Kumar belongs to, being the dominant community, pockets in which Dalits and Paswans live are more cramped and less clean.
“We have been complaining to the MLA to repair this street. It is completely broken but as we are Harijans, nothing has been done. We will definitely give the government a shock this time,” another resident says on condition of anonymity.
A number of government workers living in the village are unhappy with the government over what they term as a proposal to voluntarily retire them after 50. “They are talking about retiring us after the age of 50 as our efficiency reduces but then the same CM who is 69 and the MLA who is 75 wants to come back to power once again? What kind of logic is this?” asks the government employee quoted above.
Many also say that the “missing MLA” is an issue as those who act on his behalf seldom listen to their grievances. The CM visits the village thrice every year to pay homage to his later father, mother and wife, respectively.
“We always supported and voted for Nitish Kumar in the village, but things are changing now. The Paswans are talking about voting for the LJP. There are around 12% Paswans in this village. JD(U) MLA might win this seat but as far as our support and vote is concerned we are not with him,” says another resident.
Rajesh Kumar, a 20-year-old who is preparing for competitive exams, is confident that there will be “badlaav”.
“We gave him 15 years, how many more chances does he want? This time we need to give a chance to someone else. There are around 12,000 vacancies in Bihar police but due to corruption and bribe only those who can ‘spend’ can get jobs. People like us continue to suffer,” he says.
Harnaut MLA Singh, however, denies these charges. “These are baseless allegations. There is no question of me not going there. I meet my people regularly. As far as development work is concerned this is a model village which is laced with all facilities. Even in areas where Paswans live I have got work done.
“They are deliberately trying to make it an issue before elections and indulging in caste politics. I am confident of winning the seat and that too with a margin of 40,000,” he says.
‘How many more chances does he want?’
A section of the villagers are confident that Kumar would return to power because of the work done by him, but they want him to concentrate on unemployment and corruption.
“If we go to even get a receipt or get some mutation done, we are asked to give a bribe. We don’t even have money to survive. How will we pay bribes? CM Nitish Kumar might not be indulging in all this but people under him are definitely not performing,” says Karu Yadav, a 50-year-old resident of the village.
Ram Akval Yadav, who is on the lookout for a job, says, “We will still vote for Nitish ji’s MLA as if someone else will come we don’t know if our village will get anything at all or not. Majboori hai kya karein (We don’t have options).”
Harnaut will vote in the second phase of the Bihar elections on 3 November.
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