Business down, no vikas, rue Dhaurahra voters

Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Dhaurahra, May 4

“Vikas toh dekhne ko nahi mila (Didn’t get to see any development)”, observed Shivsagar Singh, 65, sitting in his utensil shop located on the main road in Hargaon that comes under UP’s Dhaurahra Lok Sabha seat. 

“If vikas is roads, we have this dual-lane road. But it only shrunk our business as those on the other side are reluctant to cross the road amid such heavy traffic,” said Krishna Kumar, who runs a kiosk providing online services such as filling forms and checking results.

“If earlier I earned Rs 1,000 on a good day, now I barely earn Rs 100-250,” he said. Unemployment and stagnation of local businesses post-demonetisation and GST have brought the area to a standstill. Shivsagar Singh complains that he opens his shop every day but only rarely gets a customer. He has no land and his family of five are surviving on small savings that they have. 

Jagpratap’s family collectively owns nine acres of land. A resident of Hardi village, he complains of stray cattle, which have become a nuisance eating into farmers’ profit. Sonu Rastogi who runs a jewellery shop in the main Sisaiya Chowk, barely a stone’s throw away from the party offices of the BJP, BSP and Congress, has the same story to share.

“The marriage season brings some business. Otherwise, no one has any money for jewellery,” he says. Niaz Ahmad’s photocopying business has suffered too and he now earns barely Rs 100 on a lucky day.

They are all patiently waiting for “achche din”. 

The first election after the constituency came into existence in 2009 was won by Congress’ Jitin Prasada who became Union Minister. In 2014, he took a severe beating and came fourth. BJP’s Rekha Verma won, polling 33.99 per cent votes, BSP’s Daud Ahmad was second with 22.13 per cent votes and Anand Bhadouriya of SP was third with 22.07 per cent votes. Congress’ Prasad lost his deposit. He barely managed 16.13 per cent votes.

This time the equation has changed as the SP-BSP are together in an alliance. The BSP has fielded Arshad Iliyas Siddiqui, son of veteran BSP politician Ilyas Azmi, who twice won from Shahabad parliamentary constituency before it became extinct.

Rekha Verma is once again the BJP candidate and Prasada is in the fray representing the Congress. As people point out, all candidates are outsiders and will “disappear” after the elections. 

No one has come to us for votes. After five years,  we saw our MP Rekha Verma two days ago when she passed by, waving at all and sundry during a roadshow— Hargaon resident