Voting choices hold firm amid a diminished Sonepur animal mela

Sonepur (Bihar): The unseasonal rains due to cyclonic activity and the approaching November 6 first phase elections in the state have cast a damper on the “melas” that mark this small but busy crossroads known for its animal fairs and local dramas. But nothing, not even a downpour or the administrative arrangements for elections, will prevent thousands from gathering for a Ganga snan (bath) on “Kartik Purnima” and offer prayers at the Harihar Nath temple.

Contractors setting up stages and tents have taken a pause. Sitting under a makeshift tent, Ashok Singh says there is nothing to do but to wait it out till the rains cease. The official dates of the annual mela, he says, have been moved to November 9 due to the elections. Till then the piles of bamboos, planks, metal angles, nuts and bolts will lie unattended. Labour nata awaits clearer skies.

A major draw this year is the exact replica of the Ram temple at Ayodhya that is being set up at the centre of a large field. The bamboo grid is in place but it is hard to picture the final shape but the contractor who has landed the contract quickly opens pictures on his phone to show what the final product will look like. The weather will get better and the mela will soon be thronging with visitors, locals hope, adding that a near market for household items is a big draw as well.

Over the years, Sonepur’s animal markets have shrunk. A ban on sale and trade of elephants has meant a big reason for the fair’s success and fame is gone. The sale of cows has dried up too since Uttar Pradesh clamped restrictions of cattle movement in order to curb smuggling of the animals for illegal slaughter. There was a time, said people at the Sonepur market, when valuable cows giving 20-25 litres of milk a day were eagerly awaited. Now its mostly horses, sheep and goats, the latter from Rajasthan.

The talk about mela intermingles with discussions on the elections and Sonepur has a significant Rajput or “Babusaheb” population that does not seem to have altered its preference for the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (U) combine, just as the Yadavs in the region are sticking to the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad and son Tejashwi. The contests are keen and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) supporters expect the incumbent regime to retain office.

The diminution of the mela has implications for the local economy but the improvements in communication, including speedier access to Patna, is a welcome development as are better supply of electricity and benefits from welfare schemes run by the government. The outcomes in keenly fought contests in Chapra can hinge on the votes of non-Yadav other backward classes (OBCs), particularly the EBCs (extremely backward classes).

Village and town roads are congested and the rain turns mud into slush but markets and eateries are open till late evening and as a halt at a hardware store demonstrated, there is a brisk sale of branded paints and other material indicating that rural commerce is not stagnating.