Bihar Polls: CPI-ML sees ray of hope in 3 Bhojpur seats

ARA: At a stone's throw from the railway station and in touching distance of a temple, CPI-ML (Liberation)'s office has an old-world charm. You can sit under the neem tree and watch the trains pass by ,a place better for writing poetry than staging a revolution.
The senior comrades facing mediamen in a tiny office look ready to battle “casteist and communal forces“. Sitting below portraits of dear departed comrades, including Lenin and Charu Mazumdar, they smell hope, speak of opportunities.

“In this climate of spiralling prices and growing communal forces, we're an alternative. We're the only party talking about farmer deaths, water shortage, agrarian crisis, daily wagers and students,“ says Jawaharlal Singh, the party's district secretary.

At one time Bhojpur was ground zero of Bihar's radical Reds. In its killing fields, feudalism and its viciousness were questioned and fought.

Electoral success followed.Rameshwar Prasad's triumph as a nominee of Indian People's Front -over-ground wing of CPI(ML) (Liberation) in 1980s and `90s -from Ara in the 1989 LS polls remains a shining moment in Bihar's far-Left history. That was then. In the 2010 assembly polls, CPI(ML) (Liberation) failed to win a single seat. This time they believe they have a fair chance in three (Tarari, Agiaon (SC) and Jagdishpur) of Bhojpur's seven seats. Even the neutral view is they'll fare better this time. Tarari is CPI (ML)'s best bet. The road to Tarari, about 35 km from Ara, is almost as smooth as Katrina Kaif's cheeks; to re-contemporise a Laluism. The RJD boss didn't fulfil his promise. Nitish Kumar delivered. The duo left Tarari to Congress.

In Tarari's Khuthan Bazaar, CPI(ML)-Liberation candidate Sudama Prasad, 54, explains how delimitation hurt them in 2010: “Our leader Ram Naresh Ram, who died in 2010, used to be unbeatable in Sahar. Delimitation split our areas into two -the other is Agiaon.“

Khuthan Bazaar is about equidistant from Ekwari and Belaur. Ekwari is where Jagdish Master, Rameshwar Prasad and Ram Naresh Ram, all far-Left icons, midwifed the party in the 1970s. Belaur is where Ranvir Sena, the uppercaste landlord militia was formed. SP here has given a ticket to Indu Bhushan Singh, son of Brahmeshwar Singh, Ranvir Sena supremo shot dead at Ara in 2012.

The real battle is between Prasad and LJP's Gita Pandey , strongman Sunil Pandey's wife. Prasad's main rivals are Bhumihars -it is well-known that upper castes here unite when faced with the Reds. But Prasad, who twice finished runner-up from Ara, is upbeat. “My rivals protect the feudal class's interests. People know who they are,“ he says.His followers are campaigning hard. One of their slogans: “Modi tere raaj mein, kamai gayee pyaaj mein.“ Words that feel like newspaper headlines and ring like votes.