Bihar Elections: For votes, netas remember influential writer 'Renu', target his caste members

Netas in Bihar seem to have developed a sudden love for literature. Ask why? It’s about votes, silly. In the Forbesganj constituency all of them are busy singing paeans to Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, one of the most influential writers of modern Hindi literature in the post-Premchand era. The seat goes to polls on 5 November. The leaders are invoking his caste to woo ‘Dhanuk’ voters, of whom there are around 30,000 in the assembly constituency. Renu was a ‘Dhanuk’, one of the sub-castes of ‘Mandal’ (also known as Kurmi), a major voting block in Bihar. As many as 12 contestants are vying for favour of the group. Renu’s son Padam Parag Rai Venu, the sitting Forbesganj MLA, said, “We are the natural claimant of Dhanuk votes because my father belonged to the caste. His work and achievements have given the reason for ‘Dhanuks’ to hold their heads high in the society. He is still regarded with reverence and his name unites the community.” Though Venu is not contesting the polls this time, he is working very hard to ensure that Dhanuks vote en-bloc for the Mahagathbandhan (JDU-RJD-Congress grand alliance). A former BJP leader, he switched over to the Nitish-led party ahead of polls when the party decided not to field him in this year’s elections. As the Forbesganj seat went to the RJD, he was left with no option but to campaign for the RJD nominee Krityanand Biswas (commonly known as KN Biswas), a popular lawyer-turned-politician who is also a Mandal by caste. The grand alliance hopes that being the son of Renu and also the local legislator Venu can swing Mandal voters in its favour. [caption id=“attachment_2490908” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A house in Renu’s village Forbesganj in Bihar: Image courtesy: Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption] “My father was proud to be born a Dhanuk. Though he did not use Mandal as surname, he never concealed his caste. He had a tattoo on his left hand which said that he was a Dhanuk. My fellow caste members vote the way Renu family votes because they hold him in high regard,” the leader further added. Ironically, the leaders are not interested in Renu’s literary works such as Maila Anchal –regarded as the most significant Hindi novel after Premchand’s Godaan, Aanchalik Upanyas – a social novel best known for promoting the voice of the contemporary rural India by depicting its life, especially that of the backward and the deprived, and short story Maare Gaye Gulfam – which was adapted into Raj Kapoor-starrer Teesri Kasam. They are only keen on exploiting his caste. The BJP, which claims to seek votes on development, is busy wooing the caste like never before. Its nominee Vidyasagar Keshri, who is a vaishya by caste, has taken several Dhanuk leaders on his side. When he visits Aurahi Hinga, Renu’s village, he is accompanied by local Dhanuk leaders. This is to ensure that his son does not run away with a major chunk of votes. “Renu always wrote against social evils and wanted the society, especially the backwards, to develop. The BJP shares the same ideology. Unlike his own son, we are not using Renu’s caste. We want to take forward his fight against social evils and backwardness. That is why we want Dhanuks and every other caste to chose the BJP and support Narendra Modi’s idea of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (together with all, development for all). And I am sure I will get their support,” Keshri said. Renu’s nephew Manvendra Kumar is also disappointed with the BJP for denying ticket to Venu but he feels sad when the noted litterateur is dragged into the caste mess. “It is really unfortunate that instead of talking about development and preserving Renu’s legacy, political parties are using his name to solve caste equation,” he said while showing this reporter Renu’s study room at his village under Simraha police station. Baring a statue, a gate and village named after Renu, nothing substantial has been done to take Renu’s legacy forward. The area has no library. A museum has recently been inaugurated but it remains closed for people in general. Little has been done for the voters here. Asked about the winning chances of the candidates, a resident of the village who politely refused to be named, said whosoever solves the caste mathematics here will emerge as winner because Muslim voters are split among RJD’s Biswas and Zakir Anwar alias Zakir Hussain Khan of Pappu Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party (JAP). Another resident intervened, saying, “The BJP candidate has to put up with rebel workers as they vented their anger over denial of ticket to the sitting party MLA here.” In the 2010 assembly polls, Venu had defeated Maya Nand Thakur of the Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) by a margin of 26,827 votes. He had received 70,463 votes. The seat had gone to the BJP in 1990 and 1995 as well when Maya Nand Thakur had registered victory by bagging 43,636 votes.