15 villages of Digha will vote after a decade

DIGHA (West Singbhum): Across the dense sal forests of Saranda, the trees have shed their old and dried leaves and given way to a fluorescent green foliage, which wave gently in the autumn breeze - an indication of the winds of change that are blowing over the 15 villages under Digha panchayat, some 32 kilometres from the block headquarters of Manoharpur of West Singbhum district in southern Jharkhand.
These villagers, who did not enjoy the privilege of exercising their franchise for either parliamentary or assembly elections for more than a decade, are keen to vote now.
All along the concrete and semi-concrete roads leading to Digha, which is the first village that comes under the panchayat and was chosen by the Union rural development ministry for its ambitious Saranda Action Plan (SAP), posters of the Election Commission on government buildings and village huts urging voters to exercise their franchise on April 17 are a welcome change from the earlier posters, inked in red by the Maoists for poll boycott. This apart, posters of a few candidates urging voters to vote in their favour is also found near villages adjacent to Digha. "This time we have neither seen Red posters nor has any Maoist come to the village asking us to boycott polls," said Dayamani Soren of the village.
Sunil Gudiya, 60, who migrates for work to bordering Orissa, does not remember when he had voted last in his village. "The last time I voted it was in Orissa where I was working as a labourer," he said. Flashing a toothless smile, Sunil admits with a sense of guilt that though he is a resident of Digha - a village of 60 familes, mostly Christian tribals - he had voted for a candidate from Orissa in 2004.
Similarly, Karun Soy, who is well into her 60s, says she has never voted in her life. Danish Topno, a contractor in the village explained that 2000 onwards when the Maoists were running a parallel government in the villages, voting was considered a taboo. However, despite their diktats, there were a handful of villagers, who would quietly walk down a few kilometres to a polling booth in Jereikela and cast their votes." Asked about the fallout of violating the Maoist diktat, the villagers looked at each other and mustered only a nervous smile.
But all that has changed now. Union minister Jairam Ramesh's endeavours of constructing roads and making the villages accessible is reaping fruits.
Villagers of Digha and adjoining four villages will vote at the newly built Integrated Development Centre, which is their polling booth.
"If you do not vote you will be considered a Maoist sympathizer,'' some officials have also warned them.
Though a major problem in this panchayat has been solved, there is now the question of who to vote for. The voters are a confused lot since not a single candidate has come up to the village so far. Neither do they know these parties nor the candidates.
"Candidates never come to this part and return from the adjacent Sagjori village fearing reprisal from Maoists, who they believe have been pushed back, but not vanquished,'' said Ajit, a panchayat sevak.
Again villagers of Nayagaon, which is on the border of Orissa and some 30 kilometres from Digha, are in a dilemma since their booth has been relocated here. "No candidate has come this side who could carry us in vehicles to the polling booths," they complained.
BDO Devendra Kumar, however, assured that the administration has arranged for small vehicles for them.