Shreyasi Singh hits campaign trail for mom in Banka

PATNA: Her finger may not be on trigger right now, but she definitely has some aim and she wants to prove her shooting skill in the poll arena. Commonwealth gold medallist in shooting Shreyasi Singh is campaigning for her mother Putul Kumari in Banka constituency. And who is in her firing range? Obviously the state leadership of BJP and also the top JD(U) netas.
Putul Kumari, a former MP and widow of former Union minister Digvijay Singh, jumped into the fray as independent after her party BJP allotted Banka seat to JD(U)’s Giridhari Yadav.When Putul refused to withdraw his papers, the BJP expelled her from the party for six years. Shreyasi’s mother Putul had filed the nomination papers on March 25 and the two started the campaigning on March 28.
The internationally known shooter is moving from one place to another in the constituency to help her mother, who represented this seat twice, first as independent after the death of her husband in bypoll and again on a BJP ticket. So far, Shreyasi has campaigned at Barahat, Amarpur, Banka and Shambhuganj.
Talking to this newspaper over the phone from Banka, Shreyasi said, “Yes, I’m a sportsperson, but I always belong to a political family. As much as I like politics, I also love sports as my father was once the president of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) and my mother the vice-president of the association. Both are ex-MPs as wll.”
Shreyasi said a lot of people in Banka have seen her grow and they are closely attached to her. “People here treat me as their own daughter,” said the 27-year-old shooter, adding she has been devoting equal time for electioneering and sports. “My goal is to get the gold medal for India in next Olympics to be held in 2020 in Tokyo,” Shreyasi said.
“My mother was essentially the NDA candidate but she was denied ticket at the last minute. Naturally, the people are upset and taken it on themselves. In this election, they will prove that the BJP has taken the wrong decision. My mother was vice-president of BJP in Bihar and she had worked hard by touring the constituency in last five years. We feel betrayed by the decision of BJP,” Shreyasi said.
Shreyasi said she and her mother were focusing more on development issues like irrigation, schools, colleges and roads. “I visit Banka quite often and personally I don’t think much work has been done here. The groundwater level in Banka has gone down. People are facing water scarcity. If elected, my mother will try to address these issues,” she said, adding she had no plans to join politics as of now.