Sasaram in Bihar went to the polls on Thursday where Meira Kumar is looking to a third consecutive win. In the constituency, represented by her father, Babu Jagjivan Ram, till his death in 1986, the Bharatiya Janata Party has put up a strong fight against her by fielding the former MP, Chhedi Paswan. A civil servant, who took voluntary retirement to fight election, KP Ramayya is the Janata Dal (United) candidate here.

The fight is widely pursued as a Meera versus (Narendra) Modi battle. Modi is fighting from nearby Varanasi constituency (in UP) and the BJP hopes it will have a spill-over effect in Sasaram. Confident of victory, the Lok Sabha Speaker told Business Line that her performance as an MP, Minister and the Speaker of Lok Sabha, will be valued by the people of Sasaram. Excerpts:

You have completed three decades in electoral politics. What makes the 2014 elections different?

The purpose of the general elections is to let the people decide the direction the country should take in the next five years. People give their verdict for an ideology which they think will be pursued. This larger ideology of an election is more important than the development work in a region or the personalities involved in a contest.

This is a big country and the only country which has a multi-party system. In 2009, we had 71.60 crore voters, much more than the combined population of the US, the UK and all European countries. This time, we have 81 crore voters. What will you tell them? They (the BJP) have made this election individual-centric. However important or great a person may be, the collective will of the people for deciding the future of the country is always greater. That should not be compared with anything else. That is how I see it.

Do you think the projection of Narendra Modi will have no impact in Bihar?

Absolutely no impact. People of Bihar are politically aware. Go to a village in the interiors and the person you talk to may not be educated, but will know what the political combinations are, equations, the fallout of the elections, and how it will affect him. He knows the nuances and analyses them very well. You will hear political discussions in pan shops, tea shops and everywhere.

There are so many young people who are first-time voters. I find them very engaged, enthused and involved. They are concerned about Indian politics. They are not cynical. This is a good thing. This is how democracy will eventually thrive.

There are apprehensions that the supremacy of democratic institutions is being undermined. Assemblies and Parliament often fail to take up issues of the people. What will be your suggestion to the next Government to address this situation?

I always held that Parliament should meet and work for 100 days. I was hurt that we could not do 100 per cent work. The Parliament of India should have the highest productivity compared to any other parliament. We should have that capacity and strength. If we don’t have it, we will have to introspect and see how we can have not just 100 per cent, but 200 per cent productivity.

Expectations of people from an MP are high. Are you able to cop up with the present-day challenges?

Changes in this area are visible. An MP will have to operate in two to three different levels. First, at the level of personal welfare of the people. They expect the help of an MP for better healthcare, school or college admissions, for promotions in their jobs. You try and help them in whatever extent possible.

The other is the development work of the area. There are works under the State and Centre list. Even those works that are actually under the State list, people want you to do it. Some works can be addressed by the mukhiyas . They get the funds for that. But people want you to do it and you cannot disappoint them.

Third, they send you as their representative to decide about national and international affairs. An MP will have to play that role, too. These are the various levels, and above all these, certainly ideology is important.

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