Madhepura: Anatomy Of A 'Boring' Election

In cricket, there is a ball called the cross-seam delivery. Delivered with the seam of the ball perpendicular to the pitch, you can’t predict which way the ball would move after pitching. In Bihar politics, outcomes of elections in Madhepura district are such cross-seam deliveries.

Madhepura is often associated with the slogan, “Rome Pope ka, Madhepura Gope ka (Rome is for Pope, Madhepura is for Yadavs)”. While the slogan was first emerged in 1962, its true symbolism unfolded in the elections of the decades to come.

No person belonging to a non-Yadav community has been able to secure a victory from the Madhepura Lok Sabha seat.

Even the main contenders in most elections belong to the Yadav community. Madhepura has some of the biggest faces of Bihar politics - Bindheshwari Prasad (B.P.) Mandal, Lalu Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Pappu Yadav are some of the big names who have represented Madhepura in Parliament. 

The reason why I compared Madhepura with a cross-seam delivery is that all of the three named above have lost an election from this seat. The seat is in fact famous for multiple rounds of duel between these leaders.

One of the oft-ignored aspects of Madhepura is that it is the birthplace of B.P. Mandal, former Bihar chief minister and the man who headed the Mandal Commission.

The Mandal Commission’s report is hailed by one section as the foundational doctrine for social justice while its detractors say that the report led to government services getting politicised and politics getting moving further in the grip of caste.

Swarajya went to Murho, Mandal’s village.

Remarkably, during the British Raj, Murho was an estate dominated by Yadav zamindars. The estate was an identity of Madhepura. Mandal also belonged to a landlord family.

Today, outside Mandal’s house exists his samadhi.

Murho is well connected to main Madhepura through roads.

A few meters away from the samadhi we saw a colony mainly dominated by huts and under construction houses.

Main inhabitants of the colony were people belonging to Dalit community. “They were brought here a few decades back by Mandal’s family. They worked for Mandal, but because they lived away, it was tough to summon them at will, so the Mandal family gave them land to live. Initially only 20-30 of them were there, but now they are more than 500” said one of the residents.

In the last two decades, this colony has seen many huts being replaced by houses made of bricks. Constructions under Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana also began, but most of them are waiting for next installments. 

Baleswar claims he is one of the victims of the process. He alleges that Mandal’s men have done this. “They filed a case against us. We have spent Rs 1 lakh till date. They are asking us to show land papers. We settled here decades ago and are also uneducated, how can we get papers of ownership? ”said Baleswar.

Baleswar’s main source of income is labouring hard on fields and factories, both inside and outside Bihar. When he and his brothers are outside, their wives take charge. These women wake up at 4 AM, prepare food and breakfast for their kids, send them to school and then also handle a small store for some extra income. Their days end at 10 PM.

When asked how she got so much strength, Nirmala, Baleswar’s sister-in-law says, “It has become a routine, it's my life and my responsibilities. If I don’t raise these kids, who else will?”. She wants the children to get a government job and free the family from the clutches of poverty. 

Swarajya asked her about assistance from the government, to which she said that firstly Nitish Kumar and then PM Modi helped them a lot. “During my childhood, we could not imagine going to school. Now see, Nitish has given kids a mid-day meal, school dress and other facilities to study. My kids don’t work after school. I send them to tuition. After Modiji came, electricity, roads and health facilities have improved” said Nirmala.

Located 20-30 metres ahead of Baleswar’s house is the home of Kirai Mushar, first member of Parliament (MP) of Bhagalpur region. Unlike an average MP, his kids did not inherit wealth and estate to build upon, Mushar’s grandsons Umesh Rishidev and Jivachh Rishidev still live in a hut-type house.

The family does have 4-5 bighas of land on which they do farming and earn a living for the family. They feel cheated by the modern twist of socialist movement. “My grandfather gave up his own land to get road connectivity in the family. He did not care about building his own wealth. If he was like these leaders, I would not be here talking to you. Like Mandal’s family, I would be somewhere in Delhi, London, America…” said Umesh Rishidev.

Umesh is currently associated with Pappu Yadav and looking for a political home after Pappu joined Congress but didn’t get reward for it. “A leader should be like Pappu and my grandfather. They are real Jannayaks” added Umesh.

Jivachh, the elder brother, mainly takes charge of farming. He had a government job (contractual basis) until 2009. He holds a balanced view on politics and is miffed at increasing tension between 'modern Ambedkarites and blind supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'.

“Ambedkar Ji did well for us, in the same way Modi Ji is doing good for us. During his time, it has become respectable to call ourselves Indians. But in the last few years, the pace of development has slowed down and unemployment is rising” said Jivachh. 

Unemployment is one issue which Swarajya found echoing in every nook and corner of Madhepura, even outside the famous electric locomotive factory. A tea seller outside the factory said that he sees workers mostly from other states and countries.

“There are very few locals here, those who are employed here mainly get employed in low level jobs like cleaning and picking heavy objects” he said on the condition of anonymity.

Paradoxically though, this coach factory has increased economic activity in a radius of two kilometres. Land prices are rising and rooms for rent have surged up, a rare phenomenon in Bihar.

The other options available for Madhepurites are jobs in the service sector like hospitals and hotels. 

Madhepura’s health sector has witnessed a remarkable uptick in the last few years. Big AIIMS-like buildings, standardised private hospitals are becoming the norm. Even Sadar hospital in the city has become more organised and offers good healthcare services, despite rising medicine prices and complaints about inconsistent doctors’ visits.

Large number of people still rely on farming for their livelihood though. Maize, paddy and pulses are the main crops grown in Madhepura. There is a huge inequality when it comes to land size. While, one may find a farmer with 75 bighas of land, another one would be dependent on only 1 bigha.

Alok Kumar, one of the big landowners left his banking job in Delhi to look after his farms. His seasonal investment in a season varies between Rs 3-6 lakhs, depending on the size of land he wishes to fill with seeds. His returns (profits) largely remain the same as his investment. On an average, his profit is Rs 80,000 per month, quite a hefty sum for the place where cost of living is less.

He came back to home during Corona and decided to stay here. “I sometimes do miss Delhi as there I had multiple opportunities to roam around, eat and do fun stuff. In villages, I focus on farming and the threat of caste tensions hurting lands are always there."

In further discussion, he said that Madhepura had seen Yadavs dominating by brute force during the peak of Lalu Raj. Though not on a 90s level, the conflict still continues.

“Not just we (forward caste), everyone whether it be Mushars, Ravidas, Kurmis or anyone had to live under them because their leaders owned the system. The funny thing is while Lalu Yadav became sophisticated, his minions became more and more rowdy here” said Kumar.

The same sentiment is echoed in Bhupendra Narayan (B.N.) Mandal University. Teachers from non-Yadav communities find it tough socially. 

“Why is it that when I put in a proposal it gets rejected, but when a person from the Yadav community utters the same, no one bats an eye. Either I am missing something or it is a clear case of casteism” said a Professor who belongs to the Bhumihar community. 

The Muslim community in Madhepura however seems unaffected by this alleged casteism.

In the Masjid Chowk area of the constituency, most voters of the Muslim community this writer spoke to appeared assured about their status and economic opportunities. Beginning from tea shops, they are present at every layer of the local economy in Madhepura.

“After Modi came, Hindus have become less accepting of our ways and means. They sometimes demand our chicken shops to remain shut during Navratri, but people among Hindus themselves take stand for us. They themselves don’t like food choices imposed on them” said Shamsher, a tailor in Masjid chowk area.

When asked who these Hindus are, he says that it's mainly Yadavs. “Few months ago, tensions had risen due to lovers from both communities running away. They were calling love-jihad, but Yadavs jumped in and said that they are young bloods and love happens. There is no reason to blame the community” added Shamsher.

Mohammed Khurshid, a BJP worker was sitting near him. He is miffed with the government for not helping his son who was stuck in Kuwait. Khurshid says that now he doesn’t enjoy going to meetings as young kids motivated on Hindutva lines make noises there. Though still a BJP worker, he said that he won’t vote for Narendra Modi. His other demands include separate seats for Muslims.

“What happens is that on Muslim majority seats, one party fields Muslim while other fields Hindu, making it a Hindu-Muslim contest. Like in Kishanganj, Muslim majority seats should only be reserved for Muslim,” demanded Khurshid. Others from his own community echoed his sentiments.

Amidst these inter and intra-religious friction, the 2024 elections seemed to be a low intensity affair for local people.

From the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Dinesh Chandra Yadav, the incumbent member of Parliament (MP) was again contesting. 

Engineer and horticulturist by profession, Yadav is still considered a tall leader in Bihar politics. He has handled multiple portfolios at both state and central level - including being member of committees on external affairs, railways, petroleum and natural gas, rural development and among others.

His legislative portfolios include representing Simri Bakhtiyarpur in Bihar Legislative Assembly and three separate Lok Sabha seats namely Khagaria, Saharsa and Madhepura in Parliament. In 2019, he was the man responsible for the official end of Sharad Yadav’s political career when he beat him by more than three lakh votes.

Sharad Yadav had just left Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) while Dinesh was a respected leader in the party.

Even when this writer visited Madhepura, respect for Dinesh Yadav in both party members as well as the common public was apparent.

The problem which people have is that of him being not available for the public when required. Locals reported multiple accounts of fire, accidents, medical emergencies type needs when they wished for Yadav, but he was not there.

“After he won the election, we never saw him. It is true that the area has seen some development in the last few years, but Dinesh is getting old, due to which I would not be voting for him.”  said Sambhu Yadav, a tea seller near Madhepura bus stand.

What JD(U) did well was break into one of the vote banks of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) - Yadavs, whose number is around 3.3 lakhs in Madhepura.

Local political analysts stated that with a Yadav candidate from the other side, 30-40 per cent RJD’s vote is grabbed by the JD(U) candidate. 

Many from the Muslim community would also vote for Dinesh on similar lines but Nitish Kumar joining hands with PM Modi had worked as an inhibitor on that front. Majority of 1.8 lakh Muslim voters were expected to vote for RJD.

For the RJD, the 2024 General elections (GE) is a God-send opportunity to reestablish itself in Madhepura. 

They fielded Kumar Chandradeep Yadav. He was a relatively unknown name in the constituency. When asked about him, people, especially young ones counter questioned me about his life and family. Prakash, a first time voter said, “do not know whom Lalu has given the ticket this time, no one even knows his face, while half of Madhepura people will recognise Dinesh. There must be some quid pro quo involved in it.”

Those who know Chandradeep, especially his family history do not take him lightly. He is professor of English at College of Commerce, Arts and Science in Patna, a fact well reflected by the suave manner in which he speaks English. He was Gold medalist in post graduation course and did his Ph.D from Patna University.

For people of Madhepura, Chandradeep’s father, late Ramendra Kumar Yadav, or Ravi Yadav is a more familiar name. He represented Madhepura seat in Lok Sabha between 1989 and 1991. Between 1992 and 2004, he was a member of Rajya Sabha, a designation more respected among people of Madhepura. He also served as Vice-chancellor of B.N Mandal University of Madhepura.

Chandradeep’s grandfather had served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India.

Apart from his family lineage, Chandradeep’s appeal included focusing on issues faced by locals. He is supposed to have articulated his thoughts well and did not hesitate in talking with individual voters, trying to shed the image of high-profile and intellectually sophisticated candidates.

But till the date this writer was in the field, his personal appeal was yet to reach the rural population, which accounts for more than 95 per cent of voters in Madhepura.

In one of the villages named Khopaiti, the appeal for Mukesh Sahani, chief of Vikasheel Insaan Part (VIP) and RJD’s alliance partner in Indian National Developmental Inclusive (INDI) Alliance was more than that of Chandradeep. 

Sahani’s local workers were trying to pull as many Nishad voters in their loop as possible. For them, it is the repeat of 2019.

In one of the colonies Swarajya visited, there were more than a 100 Nishad residents who had not availed of even the basic facilities. Because of illiteracy, they did not even know whom to blame. They did not talk about Sahani in a kind way.

“Last time they promised us that we will get a house, gas and electricity, but except electricity, nothing is there” said Sardar Mukhiya. His grandson studies in class 9, but fails to correctly pronounce words. 

When I reminded him that Modi had won last time which is why Sahani did not get their work done, Mukhiya said that no matter who it is, they won’t vote until they get a guarantee.

His less aggressive brother Mukteshwar Mukhiya however said that it was not yet decided whom they will vote for. Only Sahani’s men had visited that place till the day Swarajya reached the spot. “We will see where it goes, for the time being we are looking forward towards Mukesh Sahani” said Mukteshwar.

Lastly, Pappu Yadav, much loved among people of Madhepura, had announced that he would support Dinesh Chandra Yadav, the JD(U) candidate. This news spiced up the election in Madhepura, something which even Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav failed to do.

For Madhepura people, this election was the dullest in the last few decades. Once it used to be 'hottest seat', the title which has been snatched by Purnia in 2024, all thanks to Madhepura’s own Pappu Yadav.