Family of 48 voters in Kisanganj cynosure of all contestants

A family in Bihar's Kisanganj Lok Sabha constituency is hogging attention of all political parties in the fray because of its chunk of 48 voters.

The 96-member family of 86-year-old Arzad Ali is based at Ziagachi village in Purnia district which falls under the Kisanganj Lok Sabha seat.

While every household counts for the contestants in the constituency, this family is a must-visit for them in their barnstorming for the sheer number of voters a family has under one roof.

"I have eight sons and one daughter. The eight sons have 49 children and the youngest among them has come to the world just two days back," the octogenarian family head, Arzad Ali, said.

The family has a tradition of all members voting for a particular party. They take a unanimous decision under the stewardship of Arzad Ali a couple of days before the election is to take place.

"Though as the family head, I take the ultimate decision who to vote for, but never ever the decision has not been imposed. Rather it is reached after assessing the plus and minus points of every candidate," Ali told PTI.

Even women members take part in the decision-making process, Ali's youngest son Ashfaq says proudly.

Ali said that earlier the family was an ardent supporter of the Congress because of Indira Gandhi.

"But, now the time has changed," he said.

Kisanganj goes to poll on April 24 in the third phase.

Congress candidate Maulana Israrul Haque seeking re-election from Kisanganj has already visited the village and met the family.