Forgotten for 4 yrs,blast victim waits for his vote to count

Sitting by a window,30-year-old Raj Kumar Sahani looks out at a narrow lane.

Sitting by a window,30-year-old Raj Kumar Sahani looks out at a narrow lane. There is no sign of the elections here no flags of political parties,no posters. No one has come to him to ask for his vote so far. Nor has he gone out to see what is happening. Its difficult for him to: Sahani is paralysed from the waist down.

He is a victim of the blast that rocked Dasashwamedh Ghat on February 23,2005. Seven persons were killed and over 20 injured in that terror attack. Sahani happened to be there because he earned his living taking tourists on boat rides on the Ganga. Shrapnel pierced Sahanis spine,paralysing him from below the waist.

From his bed,Sahani has been keeping track of the elections through newspapers and his boatmen friends who drop in occasionally. He waits for any candidate,or political workers to turn up at his door so that he can tell them what people like him,whose lives turned upside down in a moment,expect from them. Or why the issues that they are talking about sound hollow to him.

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Candidates in Varanasi are mainly talking about saving the weavers from the current economic crisis and protecting the country from terrorism. Soniaji talked about it,Murli Manohar Joshi talked about it, he says. Joshiji says that his party will uproot terrorism. It is not that easy. That day the entire Ghat was covered with blood in seconds,and there was no warning,no clue, says Sahani.

He believes that,ultimately,elections are all about personal issues and individual preferences. Look at me,we are more bothered about who will provide us jobs or the means to live the rest of our life, says Sahani,who is dependent on his father and four brothers. They are all boatmen,living in a modest three-room house in Aghas Kund area and sustaining a family of 16.

For each of us,life comes first. Be it boatmen,weavers or anyone. All of us are concerned about the security of our job or business. Political parties are talking about employment,but I just wish they could specify how they would ensure this. They dont sound convincing, says Sahani.

I doubt if they really know,if they really understand what it means when your life is ruined in a moment, he says,adding,In the last four years,not a single leader or official has visited me. So how would they know? All the government support I got was a cheque for Rs 25,000.

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In the last election,Sahani,like many other boatmen voted for sitting Congress MP Rajesh Mishra,who is seeking re-election this time. This time,the boatmen are divided. Some favour Ajay Rai (SP),others prefer Joshiji, they say. As for Sahani,he will make the effort to go out and vote only if someone comes and listens to him first.