Wife of man who died in political killing seeks justice through ballot

More than six months back, in the midst of parliamentary election, firebrand leader of All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU) Tileshwar Sahu was shot dead in broad daylight in Barhi by political opponents when he was campaigning for AJSU nominee Loknath Mahto.

An influential leader from Vaishya community, Tileshwar was AJSU general secretary and used to move around with four armed bodyguards in bullet-proof SUV. His supporters, nearly 15,000, were present on the spot when the killing took place.

Six months down the line, neither the AJSU nor the BJP (which is in alliance with AJSU) failed to provide justice to Tileshwar’s widow Sabi Devi. Left to fend for herself, Sabi has now joined Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the ruling party in the state, and is now the party’s nominee from Barhi.

“Tileshwar was a modern-day Robinhood, who always helped the needy through tan (physically), mann (mentally) and dhan (money). He became a martyr while fighting for AJSU, but now the same AJSU-BJP alliance has put up a candidate against me. I seek justice from you in the name of my husband who was assassinated during his prime youth,” Sabi said trying to strike an emotional chord in Tileshwar’s fiefdom, Barhi.

Sabi has advantage as well as disadvantage. The advantage is that both her rivals Manoj Yadav (former minister) from Congress and Akela Yadav from BJP belong to the same caste and, therefore, Sabi is banking on split of Yadav votes. The disadvantage with her is that with Modi wave sweeping across the State, the BJP nominee Akela has an edge over the others.

“Though I am a Vaishya, and traditionally I should vote for a Vaishya nominee (this time, Sabi Devi) who lost her husband during Lok Sabha polls. But in the battle of heart and brain, I feel I will use my brain and vote for BJP candidate Akela Yadav as we need a stable government here,” Sitaram Keshri, a local trader, told Deccan Herald.