Better off as a Maoist

Published here
Daltonganj, March 29

There once was a Maoist. He killed thieves and separated their heads. He freed his people and returned their lands. He annhilated caste by organising intercaste marriages.

Then he went into politics and was never the same again.

"Yes, he was more effective when part of the Organisation [CPI-Maoist]. Now, he is bound by all these rules; he cannot do what he wishes," chuckled Parameshwar Baitha outside a paan shop at the Pandu market in Jharkhand's Palamu district.

Parameshwar is the younger brother of Palamu's outgoing MP Kameshwar Baitha (59). Kameshwar, who won in 2009 on a JMM ticket, is instantly recognised as the member of the 15th Lok Sabha with most criminal cases to his name. In his latest affidavit, filed as a TMC candidate, Kameshwar has said that the number of cases against him stands at 51, from 2009's 46.

Even his allies by blood agree that Kameshwar, a former CPI-Maoist Central Committee member, faces an uphill battle to retain his seat. "When we go campaigning, people are asking what he has done in the last five years. I tell them that he was in jail till 2011. Since then, he has been fighting his cases," said Parameshwar. Kameshwar was ditched by the JMM, which passed on the SC-reserved seat to the RJD in the seat-sharing agreement. He tried going over to the BJP, which favoured former DGP V.D. Ram - during whose tenures Kameshwar was in jail. Then, the TMC came calling.

"It does not matter which party he contests from. People only see Kameshwar Baitha," said Parameshwar. TMC is Kameshwar's - who tells anyone who would listen that he is the most popular dalit leader of Jharkhand - third political party: he had unsuccessfully contested the 2007 Lok Sabha bypoll on a BSP ticket.

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At Dhachabar village in Pandu block's Dalakala panchayat, Ashok Baitha sat on haunches and rubbed his palm on the dirt road. "Is this the road that should lead to the house of an MP?," he asked. Ashok is a cousin of Kameshwar and still lives in the ancestral village. The MP does not live here anymore; he owns multiple houses but is mostly in his residence in Bishrampur block.

In 2009, the village had spread out to all over the constituency to campaign for its most famous son, who was in jail. Kameshwar's wife Devmani Devi campaigned, and later, became a leader on his behalf along with their three sons. By the time Kameshwar - arrested from Bihar on May 30, 2005 - was released on bail on May 8, 2011, two years of his tenure had passed. On May 11, his former comrades bombed his house in Dhachabar.

This time, the enthusiasm is missing in the village. "No one else could give us dalits what he gave us as a rebel. We were never allowed to let our lungis lie below the knee. The zamindars never let us sit on chairs; in fact, we always had to stand," said Devlal Baitha, husband of panchayat mukhiya Anju Devi. Ashok completed what Devlal left unsaid: "He silenced the zamindars. He held marriages - even encouraged intercaste couples to get married. However, when he became a leader, he helped himself."

There is an argument in saying politics has domesticated Kameshwar. "Once, he caught four thieves. This was in Basdiha. He ordered that they be killed, then separated their heads. When the police found the thieves, their heads were neatly kept together while the rest of their bodies were piled beside," said Ashok.

This story was independently narrated by a senior police officer, who also told the tale of how Kameshwar went over to the dark side - something no one in the village claims to know about. "There was an uppercaste individual who tried to molest one of Kameshwar's sisters. The man's goons assaulted Kameshwar's mother while trying to get to the girl. When Kameshwar heard of this, he went and extracted his revenge," said the officer without clarifying what exactly the revenge was.

The road connecting Dhachabar to Pamdu town was built on Kameshwar's orders - but during those 26 years he spent as a rebel. "We had been involved in a losing litigation with the zamindar about six acres of our land. Kameshwar may have been active in Bihar; but his influence and the Organisation's goodwill meant that the zamindar was forced to return it. I know about two other cases where a total of 24 acres was returned to dalits," said Bindu Ram, who is not rooting for Kameshwar this time.

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In the neighbourhood of Dhachabar where Baitha's kin lives, they believe their hero deserves one more chance. "He came overground after so many years of living in the jungle. Two of these five years, he was in jail. Look at me, even I have not been able to bring about development despite living in my own village. Give him one more chance," said "mukhiyapati" Devlal.

Even youngsters who never saw Kameshwar the rebel think he has done a good job. "Baithaji asked 277 questions in the Lok Sabha. No other Palamu MP has done so much for the constituency," said Sunil Baitha.

"Wait and see. The TMC will form the government in Delhi and Baithaji will become a cabinet minister. He is the messiah of the poor," said a youngster. When asked for his name, he withdrew without a word. It turns out, the man is a relative of the MP as well as a police constable who is Kameshwar's bodyguard.