Sasaram (Bihar), April 8 (IANS) Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is hoping to score a hat-trick in Bihar's Sasaram parliamentary constituency, but it may not be a cakewalk for her.
Unlike in the last Lok Sabha polls in 2009, it appears to be a triangular fight among three Dalits - Congress candidate and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Chedi Paswan of the BJP and former bureaucrat K.P. Ramaiah of the ruling JD-U in this reserved constituency.
Meira is the sitting MP from Sasaram.
The soft-spoken Meira Kumar is well-educated and carries the legacy of her father - late Congress leader Babu Jagjivan Ram, a veteran Dalit leader, who represented Sasaram right from the first election after independence till his death July 6, 1986.
A former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Meira is confident of making it a hat-trick this time.
"Thanks to Meira..., Sasaram is seen as a sure seat of the Congress," said a party leader close to her.
In a bid to convince those questioning her achievements, she has distributed booklets with facts and figures to counter her rivals.
She is also banking on the votes of her husband's castemen, Koeris, who have a sizable presence in the constituency.
In 2004, Meira won the Sasaram seat for the first time when she defeated three-time MP Muni Lal of the BJP by a big margin. Muni Lal, a former bureaucrat, was again defeated in 2009.
Sasaram is a semi-urban and rural constituency falling in Rohtas and Kaimur districts with 1,586,484 voters.
It is a Maoist-affected constituency with half of it known as the food basket of Bihar and other half drought-prone and hilly.
Sasaram is known for the 16th century tomb of emperor Sher Shah Suri, who built the Grand Trunk Road.
"All political parties and their candidates are trying to impress us. If someone is taking credit for development, others are making big promises. But we know whom to support and vote; after all it is caste that matters here more than anything else," said Someshwar Kumar, who lives just half a kilometre from the historic tomb of Sher Shah.
BJP candidate Paswan is hopeful of a favourable poll outcome thanks to a Modi wave which he claims is sweeping the country.
"He will defeat Meira again as he has the distinction of defeating her twice in 1989 and 1991 thanks to caste arithmetic...," said Munna Kumar, a supporter of Paswan.
Paswan is eyeing overwhelming support of his castemen - locally known as Dusadh - and enthusiastic upper caste voters and others who are under the influence of larger than life image of Modi.
Besides, Paswan said that as Modi is contesting for the nearby Varanasi seat, it is bound to help him.
Ruling JD-U candidate is Ramaiah, a native of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, who took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) last February. He is eyeing the strong presence of Mahadalits, poorest among Dalits, to decide his fate.
Ramaiah, who helped Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to implement several development and empowerment schemes for Mahadalits, group of 21 of 22 castes among Dalits in the state, is confident of getting their support.
"JD-U caste equation is different as it is sure to get major chunk of votes of Mahadalits, extreme backward castes, backward caste...," a JD-U leader said.
Lok Sabha takes up bill to amend warehousing act
New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) The Lok Sabha on Wednesday took up for discussion the warehousing corporations amendment bill which seeks to remove the provision about the central government's
NIA Raids: 70 locations in eight states including Punjab-Haryana raided, NIA action regarding gangster case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken major action on Tuesday morning. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has raided 70 places in 8 states of the country. According to news agency
Fresh and fit Kejriwal returns to Delhi
New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) A "fresh and fit" Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal returned here on Monday night after 10 days of naturopathy treatment in Bengaluru cured his chronic cough and
What are the benefits of India's economic agreement with the UAE?
A historic agreement was signed between the two countries on Friday 18 February to strengthen the bilateral ties of India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and take the trade between the two
Hijab Controversy: Kharge targeted BJP over Hijab controversy, Owaisi said – could not give security to Muskaan
The Hijab controversy, which started in Udupi, Karnataka, has reached the Parliament via the High Court, Supreme Court. On Friday, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader
BJP has put Advani in Cold Storage: Nitish Kumar
Patna, Jan 24 (IANS) Former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar Saturday criticised the BJP for putting its senior leader L.K. Advani in "cold storage"."The BJP in new avatar has put Advani in cold
Odd-Even: The government gave clarification on the withdrawal of the odd-even rule, knowing the important things related to the scheme
The odd-even rule may return soon to reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi. The situation remains very serious in the national capital with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching new highs. The state
Munmun Dutta: Supreme Court's relief to Babita ji of 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah'
Babita i.e. Munmun Dutta of TV's famous serial 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' got relief from the Supreme Court on Friday. Proceedings in the cases registered against Munmun Dutta in four states
Maharashtra Rain: Maharashtra flooded; roads submerged, houses submerged, four people died amid heavy rain
Continuous rains continue to wreak havoc in many cities of Maharashtra. The situation has gone from bad to worse in Mumbai, Pune, Palghar, and many other places. Public transport services in the state
Sangma battles Congress and an indifferent electorate in Meghalaya
Tura (Meghalaya), April 3 (IANS) Unlike the rest of the country, where the two principal national parties are waging a high decibel Lok Sabha campaign, the lack of issues in the two constituencies
