23 Feb, 2007
NEW DELHI: Madhepura, one of the two Lok Sabha constituencies to elect Lalu Prasad, looks set to get a big return gift from him. Though not conceived by Rail Bhavan earlier, yet in a swift dexterous move, Prasad pushed through the greenfield electric locomotive manufacturing unit, to be set up at Madhepura, through the Cabinet. The project, to cost Rs 1,294 crore, will manufacture high horsepower electric locomotives. Chapra, the other constituency that Prasad won and has retained, has already benefited from his stint in Rail Bhavan. The railway minister has decided to site a wagon manufacturing plant in the constituency. Though railway officials may look at the move to site a loco factory in the backward flood-ravaged district which boasts of little by way of infrastructure, the politically shrewd minister is seen as having a strong reason to reciprocate the gesture of the electorate. As compared to Chapra, Madhepura has not been steadfast in its loyalty to Prasad. In the 1999 polls, in fact, it preferred an outsider Sharad Yadav over him. Some of the relatively well-off Yadavs of Madhepura, who were once represented by stalwarts like B P Mandal of the OBC job quota fame, have also trouble accepting the leadership of Prasad.
NEW DELHI: Madhepura, one of the two Lok Sabha constituencies to elect Lalu Prasad, looks set to get a big return gift from him. Though not conceived by Rail Bhavan earlier, yet in a swift dexterous move, Prasad pushed through the greenfield electric locomotive manufacturing unit, to be set up at Madhepura, through the Cabinet. The project, to cost Rs 1,294 crore, will manufacture high horsepower electric locomotives. Chapra, the other constituency that Prasad won and has retained, has already benefited from his stint in Rail Bhavan. The railway minister has decided to site a wagon manufacturing plant in the constituency. Though railway officials may look at the move to site a loco factory in the backward flood-ravaged district which boasts of little by way of infrastructure, the politically shrewd minister is seen as having a strong reason to reciprocate the gesture of the electorate. As compared to Chapra, Madhepura has not been steadfast in its loyalty to Prasad. In the 1999 polls, in fact, it preferred an outsider Sharad Yadav over him. Some of the relatively well-off Yadavs of Madhepura, who were once represented by stalwarts like B P Mandal of the OBC job quota fame, have also trouble accepting the leadership of Prasad.
No comments:
Post a Comment