Will father’s infamy forged shadow on Shivani Shukla in Lalganj?
Vaishali, Bihar: On an overcast Saturday morning, a 28-year-old lady rides a pillion on her supporter’s bike as a motorcade snakes by means of unmetalled, muddy roads within the hinterland of Bihar’s Vaishali district. She shortly criss-crosses totally different wards of Sahatha village, as voting day is drawing close to in Lalganj.
“Lalten chhap…aashirvaad dijiyega. (Bless by voting on the lantern button),” says Shivani Shukla, the candidate from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), whose electoral image is the lantern.
It might be her ballot debut however the surname Shukla holds weight on this a part of the state. Afterall, Shivani’s father Vijay Kumar Shukla, higher often known as Munna Shukla, is a three-time former MLA. As her ‘bahubali’ (strongman) father is behind bars for the homicide of former minister Brij Bihari, Shivani shoulders the accountability of carrying the household legacy within the warmth and dirt of Lalganj, a far cry from the chilly climate of the UK and the comforts of Delhi.
Her rival is formidable: Sanjay Kumar Singh, a Raghuvanshi (Rajput) politician of the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) who had a win margin of 26,000 votes 5 years in the past.
Not all are satisfied with Shivani’s marketing campaign, particularly with little to nearly no stopovers that give no scope for making her presence felt amongst voters.
“Who is aware of about her past the purpose that she is a daughter of Munna Shukla. We’re considerably conversant in her, however our girls, who will not be well-versed within the space’s politics, are unaware… Shouldn’t she have stopped and spoken to them at the least?” Ranjeet Singh, a Bhumihar just like the RJD candidate, laments.
“She crossed our roads and waved at us; the voters can do the identical, too, along with her. Her mom at all times took a unique marketing campaign method regardless of her familiarity with villagers.”
Shivani’s mom Annu Shukla had received on a Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), ticket in 2010. She, nevertheless, got here a distant fourth within the 2014 basic elections which she contested as an Impartial.
For the RJD candidate, the Shukla surname brings formidable identification in addition to default help from Bhumihar voters. However the alumnus of the Delhi Public College and the College of Leeds is trying to chart her personal course. She can be well-aware that her father’s infamy is usually a baggage on the day of voting on 6 November.
The street was not straightforward for Shivani. The Congress had fielded Aditya Kumar alias Raja because it acquired Lalganj as a part of the Mahagatbandhan’s seat-sharing association. With no RJD ticket, Shivani went forward to contest independently. By the night of 17 October, the RJD made her its candidate. 4 days later, the Congress candidate withdrew his nomination.
The RJD candidate asserts her precedence is to develop higher colleges in Lalganj and to offer services, resembling clear ingesting water, to the individuals.
“I need to deal with the training of kids in my constituency if I get the blessings. I intention to ascertain a consultancy service for college students who’ve accomplished matriculation and commencement, offering them with details about their choices in numerous fields of training. My high precedence is to raised faculty infrastructure,” she tells ThePrint.
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A misstep to hitch RJD?
A few of the voters ThePrint spoke to imagine contesting as an Impartial candidate would have been a greater prospect for her.
Sahatha villager Ranjeet Singh says that the Shuklas erred throughout the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and that the “mistake” didn’t cease with the defeat of Munna Shukla.
Shukla, the Bhumihar farmer recollects, made his political debut profitable as an Impartial within the 2000 meeting elections from the identical constituency. He did the identical within the 2004 Lok Sabha elections however misplaced to RJD’s Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in Vaishali Lok Sabha constituency. Then, he went on to win the dual elections—first as a Lok Janshakti Get together (LJP) candidate after which as a candidate from the JD(U)—in 2005. Singh defeated him once more in a detailed contest within the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
The strongman joined the RJD on the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections however misplaced to Veena Devi of the Lok Janshakti Get together (Ram Vilas) in Vaishali regardless of securing greater than 400,000 votes.
“Munna Shukla and his slain brothers fought in opposition to Lalu Yadav and his anti-upper caste politics for his or her total life. Now, this try to fix ties with Lalu and RJD is hampering his legacy,” Singh says, including that the household could have gotten the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) ticket in the event that they had been affected person.
Retired Military personnel Chandra Bhushan Singh holds a unique view. “There may be an simple historical past of her father, however here’s a daughter, making a recent begin and providing to offer options to native issues resembling roads and colleges. She deserves an opportunity,” Singh tells ThePrint.
Not like the native sentiments at Kailitand tola of Sahatha village, residents of different wards are indignant in opposition to the incumbent legislator, Sanjay Kumar Singh.
“Our MLA didn’t even take into account visiting our villages within the final 5 years, and all the guarantees about all-weather roads gathering mud,” Goni Shahni, a tea vendor, tells ThePrint.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, he says, acquired a raft of votes within the final election, however not this time.
“Who will carry ahead Munna Shukla’s legacy? If she received’t get up, and Shukla stays in jail, his politics and legacy could be over,” asks Suresh Sahni, who does enterprise in electrical merchandise. He had stayed again to vote after returning residence for Chhath puja.
One other voter Shankar Sahni is able to vote for “change”. “We’re voting to alter our MLA. We might have voted in opposition to Sanjay Singh even when Shivani weren’t in opposition. We aren’t bothered about which occasion would kind the federal government. Our MLA didn’t pay heed to our requests and didn’t ship on the guarantees, and we would like him out,” Sahni tells ThePrint.
Modi-Nitish allure
Sipping a cup of tea exterior his store in Lalganj market, Mahendra Prasad recollects “good works” of the Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“Bahut bolta tha sab ki Ram Mandir banega toh desh me danga fasad ho jagea. Sambhalna mushkil hoga. Mandir bhi wahi hai aur desh bhi wahi hai (There was quite a lot of chatter concerning the nation going to riots if Ram Mandir comes up. Not solely do we have now the temple, however we additionally managed the aftermath properly,” says the septuagenarian with a ‘tilak’ on his brow.
He hails Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for bettering roads, electrical energy, and uplifting the poor. “The pension quantity has been tripled to Rs 1,100. Now we have now round the clock electrical energy and respectable roads.”
In Masudhan Pakdi village below Lalganj block, one other voter Bindu Sahni just isn’t names, be it Munna Shukla, his daughter or Vikassheel Insaan Get together (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni.
The village has round 500 voters from the Mallah group, however they’re Nitish and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he says.
“Kaam bolta hai, naam nahi (Work speaks for itself, not the identify). Modi has offered welfare, the Ram Mandir, and quite a few schemes, whereas Nitish has targeted on roads, colleges, and electrical energy. There are 50 school-going women from my village, which was a distant dream 20 years again,” Sahni tells ThePrint.
“I don’t find out about Shivani Shukla a lot past that she is Munna Shukla’s daughter. I’m contemplating the monitor report of the federal government.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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