Bihar Lok Sabha poll: The politics of Pappu Yadav in Purnea

Pappu Yadav, a controversial politician with a criminal past, campaigns energetically for the Purnea Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.

Hours before filing his nomination as an Independent candidate from Bihar’s Purnea Lok Sabha seat on April 4, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, 56, strides into Arjun Bhavan at 9 a.m. Yadav’s entry brings a certain energy to the many-roomed, single-storeyed structure, the newly renovated office from where he monitors his men execute work, which is ironically located near Jail Chowk, Purnea.

The politician, who likes to ride his Harley Davidson in his free time, is an accused in 41 cases, including kidnapping and rioting, as per his election affidavit, and has spent over 15 years in jail. In office, the five-time Bihar MP issues instructions, and is then driven to his modest house, Ranjan Niketan, on Court Road, about a kilometre and a half away. He takes about half an hour to change out of his tee and into more formal clothes, then offers prayers, and bends to touch his parents’ feet.

Outside, about 100 of his supporters shout slogans in his favour. “Purnea ka MP kaisa ho, Pappu Yadav jaisa ho (How should the MP of Purnea be? Just like Pappu Yadav). His sister, Anita Ranjan, showers him with flowers. Climbing into one of his SUVs that follows six others, Yadav, who has won from Purnea thrice, heads to Town Hall, only to stop about a kilometre away. Communication between the cars in the cavalcade is through walkie-talkies, and he instructs the cars to stop.

There are about 1,000 people waiting to greet him, and he steps out and walks with them. Autorickshaw drivers, paan shop owners, and mechanics chant slogans while holding aloft the flag of the Congress emblazoned with the party’s symbol: a hand in the Abhayamudra. He kisses the hands of the young and old, asking them to vote for him. Manoj Kumar Shaw, a daily wager, says, “He is very down to earth. Whenever there is a problem, he reaches the spot as soon as possible, and makes sure to help those in need.”

In the car, at his feet is an assortment of food items: apples, oranges, grapes, and bananas; rusk, makhana fried in desi ghee; and dozens of Diet Coke cans. “I ensure that everything is with me so that I can stop anywhere and have my lunch. I am a vegetarian, and all this will power me on. Campaigning in this scorching summer is a tough task,” Yadav explains. He has a full lunch in the car too: rice, dal, pumpkin curry, peas-potato, and yam, with a home-made garlic-chilli chutney. On the seats are several cushions for him to recline on, between interactions.

On March 20 this year, Yadav had merged his Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik), formed in 2015 when he was expelled from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for alleged ‘anti-party’ activity, with the Congress, a party his wife Ranjeet Ranjan is part of, and staked claim to the Purnea seat in north-east Bihar. However, after the INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing talks, the seat went to the RJD. Upset over not being chosen, Yadav called it “political murder” and decided to contest as an Independent.

Yadav is sweating, not just because of the heat, now around 40 degrees Celsius, but also because he weighs 150 kg. “I have always chosen the path of struggle,” says the son of a landowning farmer, who claims his money still comes from the land.