When Shiv Narain Patel, 58, of this prosperous village got a call from PM Narendra Modi on May 27, just a day after the PM's swearing-in, he couldn't believe his ears. Modi adopted the village as part of his fledgling 'Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana' on Friday, but he declared that he made the decision that day itself.
Patel is brother-in-law of village pradhan Durgawati Devi. The PM had called him to ask about the five people who had suffered burns from electrocution a day earlier. One of them had died. A news item about the tragedy in a Delhi newspaper had caught Modi's attention.
"I couldn't believe when told the call was from PM house and Modi ji wanted to talk to me about the incident," says Patel, known as 'pradhan ji' as he presides over Jayapur as the de facto village headman. He says the PM immediately arranged for all help and support for the grief-stricken families. "Since then, the entire village just worships him," says a visibly overwhelmed Patel.
The village, dominated by backward Kurmis (about 70 per cent), is a picture of stark contrasts. The road leading to the village from Varanasi, about 25km away, is well kept. Some roads inside the village (population 4,200) are potholed, but none of them is kuchha. SUVs parked before big houses and bungalows mark the prosperity of the well-to-do agriculturists who populate the village.
But the nearest primary health centre, the nearest girls' school and the nearest primary school are about 5km away, the nearest railway station of Raja Talab is about 10km, there is no hospital for miles and anyone wanting to go to school or college has to go to Varanasi. Acute water scarcity is the biggest problem in Jayapur, and the PM has declared that it would be taken care of very soon, earning huge applause from his audience.
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan took a potshot at Modi over another remarkable feature of this village. "Modi ji has adopted the village because there is not a single member of the community which his supporters say should be banished to Pakistan," he told dna.
BJP insiders say Azam is right about the demography of the village. In fact, they point out, Jayapur is a hardcore RSS hub. The RSS co-ordinator for Varanasi Arvind Patel, who lives in this village, however, dismisses such talk as "frivolous".
Modi himself said as much in his speech. "I selected this village for a very small reason… Jayapur was the first village that I had heard of in Varanasi, that too when tragedy struck the village… I have been reading such imaginary stories about why have I chosen Jayapur… I am amazed to know how fertile brains some people have."
"An MP does not adopt a village. A village adopts an MP," the PM added. He also brought up the female foeticide issue, saying Jayapur should celebrate when a girl is born.
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