IANS/Purnea, Bihar
It's true. People of this Pakistan want Narendra Modi to become the prime minister of India.
More than 250 residents, including over 100 voters of a village called "Pakistan" in Bihar's Purnea district, are set to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party to help Modi fulfil his dream.
"We want Narendra Modi to become PM," said Hira Hembrum, a middle-aged villager. Hembrum's view was supported by most villagers who are living in abject poverty and without the basic amenities.
Pakistan is the name of a village in Singhiya panchayat, Srinagar block, about 30km from Purnea town, the district headquarters.
"People in Pakistan are keen to vote for the BJP to see Modi as PM," Haldu Murmu, another villager of Pakistan in Purnea, about 350km from the state capital, was quoted as saying in local media.
What is interesting is that there is not a single Muslim family in the village, which comprises mostly Santhal tribespeople.
Murmu said they want to vote for Modi to counter bid by the neighbouring country Pakistan to disrupt peace.
"Only Modi can do it," he said.
Purnea goes to polls on April 24.
According to a police official, government documents record the name of the village as Pakistan.
So how did the village get its name?
Elders recall that the village was named soon after India's partition in 1947.
"Many Muslims who earlier lived here chose to leave for East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), when the country was partitioned. We decided then that the village could be named in their memory," one elderly villager said.
Pakistan village is poor and illiterate. The literacy rate in Purnea district is just 31.51%. There is hardly a literate person in the village, where proper roads, a school or a hospital is hard to come by.
However, anti-Pakistan sentiments dominate the village.
Murmu recalled that after 26/11, when 166 people were killed by Pakistani terrorists in Mumbai, the locals had even considered changing the name of their village.
"When Ajmal Kasab was hanged two years ago, the villagers celebrated by distributing sweets, singing folk songs and dancing," Murmu said.
In 2012, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar informed a visiting Pakistani delegation that there was a village named after their country in the state. The surprised delegates told Nitish Kumar that they had never heard of the village.
Prior to the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Purnea was part of Islampur, which now lies in West Bengal.
The Muslims who left the village for East Pakistan had handed over their property to Hindus in the neighbouring areas.
Meanwhile, Dausa in Rajasthan is another unique place.
Two brothers, both former Indian Police Service officers, are pitted against each other in the parliamentary constituency.
The BJP has fielded Harish Chandra Meena who took voluntary retirement to contest the Lok Sabha election. And against him is Namo Narain Meena who is the Congress candidate.
The brothers hardly speak anything against each other during public rallies and election campaigning in Dausa, where voting takes place on April 24. Voting in Rajasthan will take in two phases – on April 17 and 24.
Harish Chandra is a former director general of police in the state while Namo Narain Meena, an ex-IPS official and two times member of parliament, is central minister of state for finance in the current United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
"It is quite a peculiar situation as the candidates are brothers. They were rarely seen together on public platforms before the elections, so everyone was curious how they would campaign against each other. "However, both are trying to avoid making any personal comments," said Deshraj Meena, a resident of Dausa.
Another resident Satish Meena said that Namo Narain is harping on the UPA's development work, while his brother is trying to woo the voters in the name of Modi.
