Red belt pins development hope on polls

Belpahari: At 70, Thakuran Baskey can barely move. He had a fall two days back and the pain it inflicted is excruciating. To know whether it's a fracture, he needs to travel 32km to Bandwan or 39km to the Belpahari primary healthcentre. Wary of the journey, he chose to stay back in his Bokdoba home and bear the pain. But on Monday, he stepped out of his home, rode pillion and covered 7km on a bicycle to cast his vote at Minardihi.
Thakuran, his wife Gurubari, son Sobharam and daughter-in-law were among 120 voters from 32 homes in their village who braved the heat and the distance to exercise their franchise. Till even a few years back, this was impossible.
Thakuran's daughter, Jagori, as a teen had ran away from her home and transformed into a brutal Maoist commander in Jangalmahal. Jagori had taken up arms and mandated people not to vote. Her name cropped up after every major Maoist attack, including the Silda massacre, and she was accused in over 30 cases.
In 2011 November, when she surrendered with her husband Rajaram Soren and their only child, Chandan, now 10, she gave up her arms. She also transferred her voter ID from Belpahari to her Durgapur home.
"Jagori last came to meet us in April 2013. She stayed for a few hours and left," said Gurubari. Sshe and her husband had gone to Jagori's "home" in Durgapur six months back. During their stay there, they had stepped out once, she said, to the local studio for a family photograph. It adorns their non-descript home in Bokdoba now.
Her daughter may have chose to repose faith in the Mamata Banerjee government, but Gurubari isn't willing to commit yet. "I will vote for development, for a better life. Yes, we get rice at Rs 2/kg and police or rangers (read CRPF) don't question as anymore, but there is more to be done. We get an old-age pension of Rs 1000. Is this enough to lead a decent life?" she shot back.
Gurubari's nighbour Saraswati Baskey added, "We have only one deep tube-well here. The water isn't fit for drinking. We have to source our water from a 40-ft deep well. There is a primary school here but the nearest high school is in Belpahari. The worst, for all baby births we have to travel all the way to Purulia's Bandwan." Only three of their children go to high school."
For Gurubari, her livelihood still depends on collecting tamarind. On any good day, this can fetch a price of Rs 25/kg. "Amra vote di kichu bhalo hoar aashaye (we vote hoping good will happen)," she signed off.