Bihar polls: Congress, RJD, others invoke 'Mountain Man' Dashrath Manjhi to woo Mahadalits

GEHLAUR (GAYA): Politicians of all hues are invoking 'Mountain Man' Dashrath Manjhi -a native of Bihar's Gehlaur village who passed away in 2007 -to woo voters, especially Mahadalits, the community to which Dashrath belonged.
The 'Mountain Man', who singlehandedly carved out a path through Gehlaur hills with his hammer and chisel, is a cult figure among Mahadalits. A film called The Mountain Man was recently made on his life and struggle.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh lauded Manjhi's solid determination at their rallies in Wazirganj and Atri. Gehlaur is part of Atri constituency that votes on October 16.

Manjhi's son Bhagirath was invited to Sonia's Wazirganj rally . In fact, candidates of RJD, LJP , Jan Adhikar Party and several others have urged him to campaign for them. Wazirganj and Atri seats in Gaya district have a sizeable number of Mahadalits, who're overwhelmed with the attention Manjhi has drawn to their plight. "People here are so determined that one of them even moved a mountain," Sonia said at Wazirganj. Jan Adhikar Party chief Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has inaugurated a statue of Dashrath Manjhi and requested his family to vote for his candidate.

Manjhi's family said people are trying to cajole Bhagirath into sharing the dais with RJD chief Lalu Prasad at his Atri rally soon. Manjhi's daughter Laungi Devi (55) said politicians haven't stopped knocking on their doors. "Dawn to dusk, netas come in big cars to seek votes. They promise all, give nothing," she said.Bhagirath said, "Netas love him (Manjhi) during elections. The love does not last once the elections are over." But Manjhi's great grandchildren are happy .The 20-odd kids revel in the attention.

Much has changed in Dashrath Manjhi's village called Dashrath Nagar since 2007 when he died fighting cancer at Delhi's AIIMS. But villagers rue they're yet to get Indira Awas units, irrigation facilities and jobs. A 3-km blacktop road built in Dashrath Manjhi's name has his statue being built where he cut the mountain. "But the statue won't feed our children or ensure medical treatment," Bhagirath said.

CM Nitish Kumar had made Dashrath "CM" for five minutes in 2006 by offering him his chair, launched a skill development scheme in his name and made tax-free the film on him in Bihar, while former CM Jitan Manjhi, who spent time with the family at his home when he was CM, undertook many small development projects for Gehlaur.