The margin of victory, and not the name of the winner, had been a point of debate in this backward district of Uttar Pradesh since 1977. No issue, no wave or caste composition ever worked here because of the candidature of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar who has represented the constituency in the Parliament for five terms except in 1984. But things have changed.Now, Ballia craves for development. Erratic power and water supply, no special funds for development and pot-holed roads are the hallmark of Ballia despite the fact that the place is being represented by a former Prime Minister.``I am not here for ensuring civic amenities to you people. The country is passing through a delicate economic phase,'' says Chandra Shkehar to his constituents who complain that he neglected the area despite having held the top post. Now there are few takers for his concern for the country's economy.``See Amethi or the nearby Ghosi where development is visible. If we are to live in this messy condition, then whyChandra Shekhar?'' says Ram Gopal, a school teacher in Hariha village.This common reaction among the electorate has caused concern, perhaps for the first time, to the former prime minister who is vying for the seat with tacit support of the Samajvadi Party and the Janata Dal this time. Unlike in the previous elections, Chandra Shekhar is devoting much time in convincing the people to vote for him. He remained in Ballia for nine days since filling the nomination papers - he never used to stay here for more than four or five days.Posing him challenge is the BJP's Ram Krishna Mishra, a physics scholar from Allahabad University and an RSS leader. Mishra is a first-timer but even the Shekhar camp admits that he is a threat.``BJP candidate is a political non-entity. Yet he cannot be rejected altogether,'' says Jamuna Singh, a supporter of Shekhar. Shekhar's traditional rival and the Congress leader Jagannath Chowdhary, who wrested the seat in 1984, is again in the fray while the BSP has fielded a retiredarmyman, Col Bharat Singh.Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has brought in his battery of party workers to ensure Shekhar a smooth passage to Parliament, caste configuration is also favourable to him. The constituency is dominated by Thakurs and Brahmins and with Mulayam coming to his help, Yadavs too should support Shekhar.But the constituents keep bringing up the development issue. ``The caste factor never worked in Ballia because we always preferred the stature of Chandra Shekhar. But after remaining silent for a period of 20 years since 1977, the constituents here are thinking of getting something in return.'' says Santosh Singh, a resident of Jamalpur village.There are a few other who think Ballia's only claim to fame is that the constituency is being represented by a former Prime Minister. ``Ballia cannot afford to loose its claim to fade. There are a number of cities in Uttar Pradash which have witnessed no development but the responsibility for that does not go to the people'srepresentatives always,'' says Sharad Sharma of Ballia. But the number of people who think so are decreasing fast in Ballia.
