Chappra/Ballia: Jayaprakash Narayan’s Janata Party dethroned Indira Gandhi’s government in 1977, ushering in India’s first non-Congress power at the Centre. But in Sitabdiara, the Bihar village where he was born in 1902, not much has changed.
Sandwiched between Ghaghara and Ganga rivers, Sitabdiara now presents a unique administrative puzzle. The village, as it existed in 1902, has since been split into five gram panchayats that straddle two states—UP and Bihar—across three districts: Saran, Bhojpur and Ballia.
The house where JP, popularly called the ‘Lok Nayak’ or people’s leader, was born falls under Sitabdiara gram panchayat in Bihar. Born to Harsu Dayal, an employee of the state’s canal department, and Phul Rani Devi, JP lived in the village till he was 12 years old, when he left to study at the Collegiate School in Patna.
None of his family members are in the village now, but the socialist icon’s influence is visible everywhere. His photos feature in every household. His quotes are painted on walls. And villagers often speak of the leader, whose legacy, they say, has been exploited for political gains.
Bhagwan Manjhi (67) proudly calls himself “JP ka Sevak” as he shows visitors faded photographs at the JP National Memorial, a renovated building where the leader had spent his childhood.
Pointing to images on display, Manjhi recalls how Bihar’s prominent leaders the likes of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav, LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan, and even Jan Sangh figures such as L.K. Advani and Ravi Shankar Prasad were deeply influenced by JP during the 1970s.
Manjhi says that many politicians continue to claim they are JP’s true heirs. “Only his (JP’s) soul knows who is really speaking the truth,” he said.
Around the same time, 16-year-old student and video blogger from a nearby village, Prince Kumar, says he was visiting the memorial with a relative to shoot some reels.
Freedom fighter Bhagat Singh is his idol, the teenager says, but his parents encouraged him to learn about JP’s life. “I came here to make some reels, so that my friends can also learn about JP through digital platforms,” he said, adding that the government should organise online campaigns on the socialist leader’s life and ideals to inspire youngsters.
Also Read: RSS betrayed Jayaprakash Narayan. He failed to de-communalise it, died a broken man
Enduring neglect
Despite its link with JP, no government has helped transform Sitabdiara, villagers say. Home to 2,300 families and 11,000 inhabitants, the village looks like any other—bumpy roads, waterlogged streets, and few medical centres and schools. Job opportunities are sparse too. Changing course of the two rivers crisscrossing through the village also brings floods every year, forcing farmers to wait until waters recede before cultivating their fields.
Lal Babu Manji, 35, lost his house to floods three years ago. He told ThePrint a few villagers came to his aid because he didn’t receive any compensation. “Government should do something to stop river erosion. If floods can’t be stopped, then the compensation system should work properly,” he said.
Deenanath Singh, a 60-year-old farmer who has lived all his life in Sitabdiara, complains about roads. “Every year, many leaders come here to visit the JP Memorial on his birth anniversary, but none of them ever step in the interior part of village. If they did, they would see the condition of our roads. Ahead of these polls too, leaders are coming only for a photo op at the memorial,” he said.
Sadhu Yadav supports Lalu Yadav, but concedes that no political party has delivered real development. “Lalu, Nitish, Paswan, all call themselves followers of Jayaprakash Narayan, but none have done enough for his village,” he said.
The village location along the UP border adds a peculiar problem, others point out. “Since alcohol is banned on this (Bihar) side but easily available across the UP border, people bring it from there. Both states’ police only do blame game in these matters,” said Kumari Devi.
The 48-year-old is considering not voting in the coming election because “no party has done anything to improve the situation”.
Residents had hoped that Sitabdiara’s infrastructure issues would be resolved after former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy adopted the village on the request of the Prime Minister. But little changed in the years after, they say.
In October 2022, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited the village and ordered construction of a pontoon bridge that would connect Sitabdiara with Chhapra, reducing its distance from 40km to 15km. But work on it never began.
Rudy, a BJP MP from Bihar’s Saran, and the district magistrate could not be reached for comments.
Still, not everyone is pessimistic.
Arun Singh, the caretaker of the two-storey JP library at the memorial, says the condition of the village was far worse before 2015. “It was the Nitish Kumar government that announced the construction of JP Memorial… Recently, Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan also came here. Officials are aware of the local problems. I believe these issues will be resolved with time,” he said.
The UP-Bihar divide
A common view among villagers is that the Bihar side of Sitabdiara, comprising three gram panchayats, remains less developed than the area that went to Uttar Pradesh in Ballia district. Roads, signboards and infrastructure are in better condition on the UP side, locals say, crediting former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar for this development.
“Chandrashekhar ji wanted to honour JP’s legacy, so he put in real effort,” said Upendra Yadav, a resident on the UP side.
There, a locality named JP Nagar also houses the old memorial trust dedicated to the Janata Party leader. It is said that JP spent his last days in this memorial, which is now maintained by Chandrashekhar’s family, unlike the one in Bihar managed by the government.
Pankaj Singh, son of a former Sitabdiara panchayat mukhiya, explained the area’s unique character: “One won’t usually find such a large village in any state. No government wants to rename or change its geographical boundaries because it is associated with JP.”
“If you combine the UP and Bihar parts along with all five gram panchayats, the total population would be over 50,000. People here use the word ‘tola’ to identify different parts of Sitabdiara. For example, JP was born in Lala Tola (a settlement in Sitabdiara), so when someone mentions it, everyone knows they are referring to the Bihar side,” he said.
Political battleground
Sitabdiara gram panchayat falls under Chhapra Assembly constituency, a seat held by the BJP for the past ten years.
BJP has dropped its sitting legislator C.N. Gupta and nominated local leader Chhoti Kumari to fight from the constituency this time. RJD’s has fielded Bhojpuri star Khesari Lal Yadav, who launched his campaign from Sitabdiara, beginning with a tribute to JP’s statue.
The competition, though, may not be two cornered. BJP rebel Rakhi Gupta threw in her nomination as an Independent candidate and political analyst Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj has added Jai Prakash Singh, another local leader, to the fray.
The constituency goes to polls in the first phase of the election on 6 November.
In the village that gave the country one of its most influential political leaders, residents aren’t sure of what to expect. Some are hopeful that the next government might finally change their lives for the better. Others, not so much.
“There’s a lack of enthusiasm because voters have heard enough promises from every party. People are tired of the same assurances. Nothing is exciting… But there are youths, who are still hopeful that something could change,” said Ashok Singh, a Sitabdiara local.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
Also Read: Karpoori Thakur: The convenient resurrection of Bihar’s Jannayak