Rabri's lantern mayn't light up Raghopur

PATNA: Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi came close to losing in November 2005 assembly polls from Raghopur, but she eventually scraped through by defeating JD(U) nominee Satish Kumar by a margin of about 5,000 votes. Five years down the line, it’s another tough battle for the RJD leader who is facing stiff resistance from her old rival.

“She is already overtaken by the fear that she will lose the election from Raghopur. Which is why she has decided to throw her hat in the ring from Sonepur, too. But, take it from me, she will lick the dust from there as well,” says the JD(U) MP from Patliputra, Ranjan Yadav, who has been crisscrossing the interiors of the constituency soliciting support for Mr Satish Kumar.

“I campaigned in around 25 panchayats of the constituency. There is no way she can win from here this time. After winning the election, she never showed her face in the constituency,” claimed the one-time political mentor and associate of RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

Surrounded by Gandak and Ganga, Raghopur looks like an island which is accessible mainly by boats in the absence of a permanent bridge — the pontoon bridge comes handy only when the rivers are not in spate. Much like the inaccessible constituency, Ms Rabri Devi remained cut off from the people who obviously would have wanted her to visit the constituency quite frequently. Not surprisingly, even before the nomination process got underway, people associated with RJD-held Mahapanchayat in Bidupur block demanded replacement of the party candidate by another local leader. The opposition from the Yadav camp perhaps prompted the RJD chief to field his wife from Sonepur also.

Mr Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan have been actively involved in the campaigning, addressing a series of rallies in the constituency. Tejaswi Yadav, the RJD first couple’s son, too stumped for her mother by holding road shows.

Ms Rabri Devi can hope to rely on her Yadav vote-bank though there could be a division because of the presence of JD(U) nominee Satish Kumar, also a Yadav.