Patna, April 2 (IANS): JD-U MP Dulal Chandra Goswami, who drove an auto-rickshaw for a living once upon a time in Patna, and later made the journey to Raisina Hills, is in the poll fray for the Lok Sabha election 2024 from Bihar’s Katihar constituency.
He won the Lok Sabha election from Katihar in 2019 and is confident of repeating his performance in 2024.
In an exclusive interview with IANS, Goswami spoke on various issues including the struggle period of his life.
IANS: What are the challenges you are facing in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and how is it different from 2019?
Goswami: There are challenges in every election but the people of the country have great respect for our PM Narendra Modi. He has been doing well in various sectors in and outside the country. This is a good thing for us. The way he is taking care of poor people by distributing free foodgrains per month, he fought during the pandemic and we are heading towards self-dependency in the field of defence and industrial sectors, are the positive points for us in this election.
IANS: Katihar is a Muslim-dominated constituency. Will they support you?
Goswami: I have good relations with the people of both the communities. I was the MLA of Balrampur assembly constituency in the past. It is a minority-dominated constituency. The people of both the communities have supported me in the past and I am getting their good response in this election too.
IANS: You campaigned in an auto rickshaw. What is the story?
Goswami: I was going for the election campaign on Monday and some of my friends suggested that I should do the campaign in an auto rickshaw. My friends knew that I was the auto driver. In 1987, a massive flood came in Katihar. I belong to a farmer family and received a massive loss in that flood. Hence I migrated from my native place and came to Patna. I stayed in the Boring Road locality. As two to three friends were working as auto drivers, they suggested that I should do the same and earn money for livelihood. As I needed a job, I opted for it and worked for a few years. It was a good learning experience of my life. I was a student at that time and that experience helped me to move forward in my life.
IANS: You have been in politics in Bihar for a long time. How many people in your family are involved in politics?
Goswami: I have four brothers and three sisters and none of them are in politics. I have three children and a wife and they are also not in politics. My father died a few years ago and my mother is the head of my family. We live under her blessings and work for our people. This is our goal.
IANS: What is your take on CM Nitish Kumar?
Goswami: People have great respect for CM Nitish Kumar in Bihar. He did well after 2005 when he became the chief minister of Bihar. It is true that we were not good at advertising the works of the Bihar government. Of late, our chief minister Nitish Kumar is vocal in pointing out the welfare works publically and on social media. So, a positive message is going to the people. We also have the support of BJP in this election. It has a sound party's structure in Bihar. NDA has a slogan of ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar, Narendra Modi Pradhan Mantri Tisri Baar’ and we are committed to it. CM Nitish Kumar called all sitting MPs of JD-U and asked them to work hard on ground as we have to win all 40 seats of Bihar and form the NDA government in Centre.
IANS: Is it possible for the NDA to win all 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar?
Goswami: It is not impossible. People of Bihar are ready to give votes in favour of NDA. We won 39 out of 40 seats of Bihar and just one seat we lost in Kishanganj with the margin of just 32 to 33 thousand votes. Our party has given the ticket to a strong candidate from Kishanganj. He was an MLA in Kishanganj and had a good stronghold in the constituency. So, we will win all 40 seats of Bihar.
IANS: What are your priorities after winning the election?
Goswami: We have a 4 lane road connecting Purnea and further Siliguri and Nepal border. From Jharkhand, we have a road bridge on the Ganga River connecting Manihari and Sahebganj. The east part of Katihar is connected with West Bengal and further Bangladesh. This is an underdeveloped region of Katihar. If we win the election, a four lane road connecting Katihar to the Bangladesh border is our priority. This road will connect Delhi-Siliguri NH 27 and also connect with NH 31 which is coming from Patna. After these road projects, Katihar will be connected with the north-east region, Patna and Jharkhand. It will boost the infrastructure and overall development of Katihar.