Bihar’s fiefs

Bihar police claims to have launched a “hot pursuit” to nab the Congress MP, Rajo Sigh and his son and Congress MLA, Sanjay Kumar in connection with the massacre of eight Rastriya Janata Dal leaders in Sheikhpura last month. But few have faith in the genuineness and sincerity behind the ostensible police action. People at large take the exercise on the part of the men in khaki to arrest the father and the son who are the named accused in the case as eyewash. And the peoples’ perception is hardly wrong. Everyone knows about the genial relationship between Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rajo Singh. Few believe that the Laloo-Rabri regime will do anything effective to harm Rajo Singh in real sense.

Observers view the ostensible police action against the undeclared “monarch” of Sheikhpura that Rajo Singh is, as a calculated move of the Laloo-Rabri regime to show its backward class voters in Sheikhpura that it is after the man and his family whom the RJD’s voters hate to the hilt.

The regime survives on the support of the Congress. But the RJD and the Congress have antagonistic social classes to support them at the grounds level. It’s true in Sheikhpura too. While Rajo Singh represents the upper caste Bhumihar’s might, the RJD cadres mainly belong to Yadavs and other backward classes in Sheikhpura.

In fact, all the eight RJD cadres including the Sheikhpura RJD district president Kashinath Yadav who were gunned down last month allegedly by the supporters of Rajo Singh and Sanjay Kumar belonged to backward classes. But Laloo Yadav shares a special relationship with Rajo Singh. Both are accused in the Rs 1000 fodder scam cases.

The massacre of eight people has once again proved that Sheikhpura is a “fief” of Rajo Singh in which he and his family don’t tolerate a dissent. Sheikhpura is virtually a state within numerous states in Bihar where the writ of a particular politician runs large.

Rajo Singh’s hegemony in Sheikhpura has gone unchallenged for the last 31 years. He won the Sheikhpura assembly seat for the first time in 1971 and over the years using his caste, fire power and muscle power modeled Sheikhpura into his “fief” and himself as an undisputed chieftain of the fief.

He is at present MP from Begusarai which, has Sheikhpura as one of its assembly segments. He made it a point to let his son Sanjay Kumar succeed him as Sheikhpura MLA when he himself decided to contest the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 1998. Thus, the family's hold over Sheikhpura remains intact.

Rajo Singh is a leader in the mould of Mohammad Shahabuddin of Siwan, Prabhunath Singh of Maharajganj, Surajbhan Singh of Mokama, Rajballabh Yadav of Nawada, Munna Shukla of Lalganj and Sunil Pandey of Piro. All these leaders have one thing in common: they don’t tolerate democracy at the grassroots level. No political rival even dares to talk against Md Shahabuddin in Siwan which he represents in the Lok Sabha. His gun holding muscle men ensure that no political parties, other than the RJD, display their banners, posters and slogans in Siwan during the elections. Siwan is his “fief” and he is the “don” of Siwan. Same is the status of others of his ilk in their respective constituencies.

Rajo Singh who is “ruling” Sheikhpura as its MLA and later as MP ever since 1971 is the unchallenged “king” of Sheikhpura district. Locals refer his ancestral village Hathiama as the “capital” of Sheikhpura. Sheikhpura was a nondescript block level town before he emergence of Rajo Singh on its scene.

Rajo Singh got Sheikhpura converted into district. Most of the Government buildings that have come up or are coming up in Sheikhpura carry the name of Rajo Singh. The Sheikhpura district Congress which has its office located in the Rajo Singh bhavan in the town is virtually the MP’s pocket-borough.

Most of the villages belonging to his caste men in the district are developed and linked to the pucca roads. As many as six roads emanate from his Hathiama village which has telephone exchange, Government hospital and schools. But the villages dominated by the backwards and dalits in the district are as neglected as other villages in Bihar.

Rajo Singh’s opponents have a long list of people who were “eliminated” when they challenged the hegemony of the Congress MP. The RJD leaders in Sheikhpura tell the story of how Sanjay Kumar got one Krishnanand Yadav dragged from his jeep and assaulted him in full view of the policemen in the town. Krishnanand Yadav had to pay the price for opposing Rajo Singh and his son.

In fact, the massacre of eight RJD cadres on 26 December took place soon after a meeting of the Sheikhpura district board in the town. Sanjay Kumar and MLA from neighbouring Barbigha, Subhas Choudhary were present in that meeting which witnessed a fierce quarrel between the RJD cadres and supporters of Sanjay Kumar over a development scheme. Sanjay Kumar wanted the scheme to be in the villages of a particular community while RJD cadres wanted it to be somewhere else.

Incidentally, all the eight RJD leaders who were on way home after attending the meeting were gunned own on the outskirts of Sheikhpura. But it’s for the first time that the RJD cadres supported by Subhas Choudhary are openly demanding the arrest of Rajo Singh and his son. Choudhary is a dalit and Congress MLA. But RJD cadres feel more at home with Choudhary who too feels “suffocated” under the hegemony of Rajo Singh.

Sheikhura is still in the grip of tension with the RJD cadres and Rajo Singh’s supporters arraigned against each other. The court has issued warrant of arrest against Rajo Singh and his son. And additional companies of police force have been deployed in the area to keep control over the volatile situation.