RJD chief seeks support of panchayats ahead of polls
With panchayats emerging as new power centres due to UPA’s flagship programmes like NREGA, RJD chief Lalu Prasad has asked senior party leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh to win support of sarpanchs and mukhiyas in favour of the party in the upcoming Assembly elections.
It should be noted here that Dr Singh, as Union minister for rural development in the UPA-I, had spearheaded the mega rural employment programme and successfully implemented it all across the country.
Sources in the party said, “Raghuvanshbabu could successfully implement the ambitious programme only because of the fact he could establish personal contact with Mukhiyas and Sarpanchs, who helped him delivering the scheme.”
Being a minister from Bihar in the previous government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the RJD leader took special interest in his home state and used to have personal contact with the village leaders all across the state on a regular basis.
The grass root leaders, irrespective of their political affiliation, have constantly been made aware of the fact that the funds under NREGA flow directly from the Centre.
“Knowing this well and also conscious of the fact that how Congress used rural employment scheme to its benefit in the last Lok Sabha elections in the rest of the country, Laluji has asked Raghuvanshbabu to work with Mukhiyas and Sarpanchs and get them on board to use their influence in RJD’s favour,” a senior party leader said.
Schemes under NREGA are implemented through Panchayats, as everything is decided at this level including creation of jobs and identification of beneficiaries.
Once a job card is made and after making a demand for the job, if the same is not provided, the employment seekers can register their complain in the Panchayats only. All these activities, since the launch of NREGA, have turned Panchayats a power centre in villages and increased the influence of local leaders manifold.
RJD wants to exploits these emerging power centres to its benefit in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state.
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