Bahubalis hold sway in the land of Buddha

Aksheev Thakur

New Delhi, May 24

A cavalcade of over 100 cars and motorbikes carrying RJD flags trundled on the streets of Vaishali amidst hundreds of people who were waiting to meet RJD candidate Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla.

A former don-turned-politician, Shukla was acquitted by the Patna High Court in 2014 in the killing of G Krishnaiah, an IAS officer. He served a jail term in connection with the killing of former Bihar minister Brij Bihari Prasad but was acquitted by the court, which gave him the benefit of doubt.

Vaishali, synonymous with the birthplace of Lord Mahavira, the last Jain ‘Tirthankara’ and the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon has now caught the eye as the electoral contest is between two ‘bahubalis’ (strongmen).

While LJP (Ram Vilas) has again fielded incumbent MP Veena Devi, wife of a strongman JD(U) MLC Dinesh Singh, RJD has pinned hopes on the muscle power of Shukla.

Veena is from the Rajput community and Shukla, a Bhumihar, both politically dominant castes. While Veena is facing anti-incumbency and relying on PM Narendra Modi’s popularity, Shukla is using lack of development as a poll issue.

“Caste is important in Vaishali. Veena Devi won last time but this time, she is contesting against the ‘bahubali’ who remains accessible throughout the year. Devi is not accessible at all,” said Bablu Pandey, one of the attendees at Shukla’s rally.

Vaibhav Kumar, who runs a grocery shop on Lalganj road of Vaishali, said he had never seen Devi after she was elected. “In 2019, she won due to the Modi wave. Shukla enjoys the support of Bhumihar and Brahmins. Since he is contesting on RJD ticket, he will get Yadav votes as well. He is very popular among all castes,” he added.

In 2019, Veena had defeated RJD veteran Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. In 2014, LJP’s Rama Kishore Singh, another strongman, had defeated Singh, who died in 2020.