A rickshaw puller canvassing for a candidate during an election season is not an uncommon site. Meet Birbal, a Dalit, who pulls rickshaw in Siwan town of north Bihar for his livelihood and is campaigning for an independent candidate contesting the Assembly elections.
But what is surprising is that Birbal is canvassing for independent candidate Harendra Dubey not because he believes that he can win, but to earn a little more than what he can by ferrying people around the town. He is paid Rs 500 daily for canvassing whereas he will earn about Rs 300 per daily if he ferries people.
He was also given food for the initial three days but after that Dubey informed him that he would be only paid the money and must arrange for his food. Birbal is on the road by 7 AM and returns to his home only by 8 PM. He says he has covered the entire Siwan constituency once.
When asked who is likely to win from Siwan, he says the fight is between "teer" (Janata Dal United election symbol arrow) and "kamal" (Bharatiya Janata Party election symbol lotus). "Wherever I go people only talk about Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi. It is a close contest," he says.
When asked why he was not canvassing for either the JDU or BJP, he adds that he was not approached by them and then Dubey's men got in touch with him and offered him much more than what he was earning daily.
Birbal is a fan of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but will not vote for Janata Dal United candidate Babblu Prasad alias Babblu Chauhan because he fears the return of "jungle raj".
"I don't want to relive the period of 10 years ago. It was a nightmare. I was often robbed and beaten up. The earning was also meager. Things changed when Nitish Kumar became the chief minister. He has done a lot for the state. There is peace, crime is down and our children are safe. But he should not have joined hands with Lalu. Lalu's men created a lot of trouble. No one ventured out of their homes in Siwan after sun set. If Nitish had contested alone, he would have won handsomely. But now I won't vote for him," says Birbal.
His vote is for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Vyas Deo Prasad as he believes that the time has come to give Bharatiya Janata Party a chance to form government in Bihar. "Narendra Modi has promised development. Let us give him a chance. We want to see what he and his party can do," he adds.
He studied till class 4 and then dropped out as his father was not mentally stable which forced his mother to work as a household help and wash utensils. But he is sending his three daughters and a son to a government school and wants them to complete their education and earn a decent living.
His eldest daughter is in class 7 and Birbal is aware that once she clears her class 8 exams, she will get Rs 2,000 to buy a bicycle under the Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojna. He credits Nitish Kumar for the scheme but adds "who acche aadmi hain per Lalu nahi chahiye".
Siwan will vote in the fourth phase on November 1.
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