BSP candidate kicks off election campaign at Baghuria

Jamshedpur, Aug 5: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate for August 29 Jamshedpur Lok Sabha bypoll Salkhan Murmu kicked off his campaign from Baghuria village where the JMM MP Sunil Mahto was gunned down by the Naxalites on March 4.

Baghuria, a remote village near Galudih in East Singhbhum district, gained notoriety after Mr Mahto's gruesome murder which led to the bypoll.

Ironically none other than Mr Murmu and the Jharkhand Party president N.E.Horo dared to venture into the village after the incident.

While, Mr Horo visited the village in the end of June, Mr Murmu drove down along with a group of scribes and a handful of party activists yesterday.

Talking to the locals, including the village head Dashmath Soren Mr Murmu pleaded the villagers to vote for him and promised for an early panchayat poll, education in Santhali launguages from the primary level, inclusion of adivasi religion Sarna in 2011 census and preservation adivasi culture and tradition.

The fomer BJP MP from Orissa's Mayurbhanj constituency, who joined the BSP recently, told the villagers about his achievements, including the inclusion of the Santhali language in the Eighth Schedule of the constituion and his future plan for the uplift of the tribals in the region.

He addressed the gathering including the men, who were arreseted by the police after the murder of Mr Mahto and got bail later.

''You had voted for the Congress candidate Pardip Balmuchu in assembly polls while your votes went to the slain JMM MP Mahto in the Parliamentary poll but no leader form those parties were interested to listen to your plight after Mr Mahto's murder. Now you have got a chance to teach them a lesson,''Mr Murmu told the villagers.

He said the BSP would organise an election rally on Augsut 10 in the village.

The villagers also narrated how the police harassed the innocent people after March 4 and put six villagers including an old man behind bars accusing them in connivance with the ultras.

''Our local MLA Balmuchu never came to visit us during our bad days. We are dismayed by their attitude,'' the locals lamented.

Baguria had three tolas and about 1500 voters, who cast their vote to the JMM in the last poll and being a Naxalite-influenced area, the Maoists might play an important role in the coming bypoll, the political observers felt.

UNI