Patna: The last five years under the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has witnessed a fairly new kind of political empowerment among the deprived sections of the society.
Previously, these classes used to be preoccupied with fighting their livelihood crisis. The change was noticeable on the political front during the first phase of polling on Thursday when a middle-aged Scheduled Caste woman, Bhogia Devi from eastern Bihar’s Madhepura district, decided to cast her vote first and then perform the last rites of her husband who died shortly before polling began.
Bhogia, a resident of Murho panchayat in Madhepura district, lost her husband Shanichar Rishideo on Wednesday night, barely 10 hours before polling began and her family as well as her neighbours expected her to perform the last rites of her husband on a priority basis. But she decided to go to the polling booth first.
“His last rites could be performed any time, but the voting period will definitely not return”, she bluntly replied when asked about her decision. “I will cast my vote first and then cremate my husband.”
A local village council official said: “I asked her to complete the last rites of her husband in the morning, but she ignored my advise”, the village head of Murho panchayat area, Mira Devi, told reporters.