7 hours agoAuthor: Devanshu Tiwari
The bus to Zamania from Ghazipur Bus Station is ready to depart. All the passengers have sat in their respective seats. Some are angry over not getting seats. Some have taken over the bonnet next to the driver’s seat. Then the small door next to the driver’s seat opens. The driver sahib laps up his seat. The bus starts and with this the sound of Bhojpuri folk songs filled with the melody of dholak-manjire spreads throughout the bus.
Voting will be held in Ghazipur on 7. Earlier we traveled 50 km in local bus from Ghazipur to Gahmar, the largest village in Asia in Zamania. In the meantime, the people who met on the bus created a complete election atmosphere. Some raised questions on the functioning of the government. Somebody built bridges to praise the Yogi government. The youth said that we have expectations from Akhilesh, so the women raised the issue of giving 10 kg government ration instead of 35 kg.
The distance from Ghazipur to Gahmar is 50 kms. To go here, you will get a bus from Lanka Bus Stop. Areas like Suhwal, Dedhgawan and Reotipur fall on this route. The Ganges also passes through this route through Banaras.
Big issue of rigged villages in distribution of government ration
The name of Elayati Devi, who is going to Dedhgawan village of Ghazipur, did not figure in the voter list. Even their ration card has not been made. Elaiati says, “Whoever gets along well with the pradhan. His ration card has been made. We have asked for a ration card many times but it has not been made yet.”
The women of Ghazipur raised the issue of rigging in getting the ration card. Told that the villagers are facing problems due to non-availability of food grains as per the government’s fixed quantity at the government ration centers. Elayati Devi is on the left in the picture. The second picture is of Sita.
“The government had promised 35 kg of ration, but only 10 kg of food grains are given at the village centre. The rest of the shopkeepers sell it in the market. The government should investigate this,” Sita said.
There is not a single central university in Ghazipur… Graduation has to be done by going to Banaras
Deepak sitting on the bus conductor seat said that there is not a single central university in the entire district. That’s why children have to go 80 kilometers away and study in Banaras. I am also doing post graduation from BHU. I do up-down everyday.
The bus was passing through a potholed road. There was a moment during the journey when people, while answering the question, fell on us. Some people were traveling in the aisle between the seats to avoid bumps. Amidst all this, a song played in the bus… Yeh Galiyan Yeh Chaubara… Don’t come here again. Hearing the song, it felt as if the heart had been spoken.
We had 33 people with us during the bus journey from Ghazipur to Gahmar.
It would be dishonest to describe this fun journey of 2 hours in words. That’s why we have come here with the video of the journey. After the video, we have told the election environment of all the 7 seats of Ghazipur one by one.
Sadar assembly seat: Tight fight between BJP-SP
Minister of State for Cooperation Dr. Sangeeta Balwant is contesting the Ghazipur Sadar seat in the Yogi government. He is facing SP candidate Jaikishan Sahu from Vaish Samaj. BSP has kept faith in former MLA Dr. Rajkumar Gautam. Bind fraternity has more voters in Ghazipur Sadar seat. That is why in the last election, people had chosen Dr. Sangeeta Balwant as the leader of Bind fraternity. Apart from Bind, Sangeeta’s eyes are also on Yadav, Rajbhar and Muslim vote bank this time, but people here say that the legislature has not been seen on the streets in five years. That’s why the voter of BJP can be broken this time.
Jakhania assembly seat: Dalit and Yadav voters will decide the difference between victory and defeat
In Jakhania seat, this time SP alliance candidate Bedi Ram is up against BJP’s Ramraj Vanvasi. The forest dwellers are from the Musahar community here. The BSP has fielded its former MLA Vijay Kumar here. This constituency is dominated by Dalit and Yadav voters.
Mohammadabad assembly seat: Voters eye the second generation of Ansari family
The Mohammadabad seat has been considered a stronghold of the Mukhtar Ansari family. But in the last election, BJP snatched this seat from him. BJP’s Alka Rai is the sitting MLA in this seat and again this time also she is in the fray. The SP has nominated Mukhtar’s nephew Mannu Ansari as its candidate. He is the son of Mukhtar’s brother Sigtullah. Madhavendra Rai, who hails from Bhumihar fraternity from BSP, is contesting the elections. Here BJP is relying on its old Bhumihar voter class. The Ansari family is considering Yadavs and people belonging to Scheduled Castes as their voters along with Muslims. The election being held on the Mohammadabad seat will decide the political future of the Ansari family.
Jangipur assembly seat: Yadav voters made the way easy for SP
Jangipur is considered the seat of SP. Here SP MLA Dr. Virendra Yadav is once again contesting the election. BJP has fielded Ramnaresh Kushwaha and Dr. Mukesh Singh of BSP. In Jangipur assembly, the number of Yadav voters is more than 70%. Hence the election here seems to be tilted more towards the SP. Also, Dr. Virendra Yadav has had the most on-ground connectivity with the people on this seat. That’s why the path of SP seems easy here.
BJP’s fight with new faces in Saidpur
BJP’s ally Nishad Party has fielded MLA Subhas Pasi from Saidpur reserved seat. Here SP has played bets on a brand new face. District Panchayat member Ankit Bharti is contesting from SP. BSP has fielded Dr. Vinod Ram. He is also the new political face. New and old faces have confused the voters of Saidpur.
BJP’s magic can run again in Zamania
In Zamania, there is a contest between BJP MLA Sunita Singh and former minister of SP government Om Prakash Singh. This seat also has 40 percent Muslim voters. In view of this, BSP has fielded Parvez Khan. Despite the large number of Muslim voters, BJP got victory in the last assembly elections here. Here BJP has a good hold on Rajput and Thakur vote bank. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s influence on Zamania seat is also considerable. He had reached Gahmar village five days back to support Dr. Sunita.
Zahoorabad assembly seat: Muslim, Yadav and Rajbhar voters can leave BJP
There are 70 thousand Rajbhar voters in Zahoorabad seat. This seat is the biggest political capital of Omprakash Rajbhar. In 2017, Omprakash Rajbhar won the election for the first time by getting 18 thousand votes as a candidate of BJP alliance. After this he became a minister in the Yogi government. When the 2019 Lok Sabha elections came, Rajbhar adopted a rebellious attitude. Om Prakash is with the SP in the 2022 assembly elections. If the Muslim, Yadav and Rajbhar voters here come together, then the SP-gathbandhan can get close to 90 thousand votes. Overall, the BJP may get a setback.