Bihar: When Kamdev Singh Captured Polling Booth under the Shadow of Guns

The country's first booth robbery incident took place in Rachiahi village of Bihar's Begusarai district. The goons of a powerful leader shook the entire system. When for the first time in the country, looting of votes took place openly under the shadow of guns.

Begusarai (Bihar): Preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have gained momentum across the nation. Be it Lok Sabha or Assembly polls, every time an incident from Begusarai is discussed.

That incident is when booth capturing happened for the first time. It occurred 66 years ago in the 1957 Bihar Assembly polls and remains a dark chapter in Indian democracy.

At that time, Congress and the Communist Party were dominant in Begusarai. In the first Bihar Assembly polls of 1952, the Congress won the Begusarai Assembly seat. After the death of the Congress MLA in 1956, Chandrashekhar Singh of the Communist Party won the by-election held in 1956.

Once again Congress candidate and Communist Party candidate were contesting against each other in the 1957 Bihar assembly polls. Saryug Singh was in the electoral fray on a Congress ticket, while Chandrashekhar Prasad Singh was seeking re-election. Both the candidates campaigned vigorously and sought blessings from the public.

Rachiahi is just 6 kilometers away from Begusarai, where earlier there used to be a Kachhari toll plaza. Land receipts of people from Ramdiri to Simaria were issued at this place. A polling booth was built here for the 1957 Bihar Assembly polls. Apart from Rachiahi, people from three villages came to vote at this booth.

It is said that on the day of voting, people of Rachiahi, Machha, Rajapur and Akashpur villages were coming to vote when suddenly 20 people armed with weapons killed the voters of Rajapur and Machha villages, while they were on their way. After this, some people, who were already present at the booth started chasing away voters. During this time, one party captured the booth and did a lot of "fake voting". When the rival party protested against the incident, there was a fierce fight.

People came to know about this incident only the next day and it was discussed across the country. According to locals, the people who captured the booth were supporters of Congress candidate Saryug Prasad Singh. Saryug Prasad Singh won the election.

The elders of village Rachiahi recall the incident of 1957 booth looting. Village elder Ramji claimed that there was an alliance between Congress candidate Saryug Prasad and 'mafia' Kamdev Singh. On the instructions of Sargug, Kamdev Singh looted the ballot boxes and captured the booth.

This incident that occurred at the Rachiahi Kachhari toll of Begusarai became a big challenge for democracy. People heard the name of booth capturing for the first time.

Several residents feel that this incident is like a stain on Begusarai.

The villagers said since then there has been no booth capturing in Rachiahi. A voter Dhruv Kumar said, "A wrong perception has been created in the entire country regarding this incident and whenever elections come, media people come to dig it up."

Political observers said booth capturing continued in the entire nation including Bihar for several decades and many people lost their lives in every election. They added following the efforts of the Centre and the Election Commission of India, voting started with EVMs instead of ballots. Tight security arrangements were made at the polling centres so that no commotion could occur.