Issues like power and water rule the roost when it comes to elections, but voters in Sihora in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh [Images] accord priority to tackling the monkey menace in this tribal area.

Slogans like 'Nahin Chahiye Bijli, Pani, Door Karo Bandar Ki Pareshani' (We do not want power and water but want the monkey ousted) and 'Bandar Bhagao, Vote Pao' (Drive out the monkey and get votes) have rented the air in this constituency seat reserved for tribals.

Sihora Jagruk Manch president Amol Chourasia said that whenever a candidate contesting elections comes to their area, they ask him/her to drive the 6000-odd monkeys out of the area if he/she wants their votes.

No candidate till date, he said, had given them a firm assurance.

"Monkeys snatch tiffin boxes from our children on their way to school. They run away with our clothes left to dry outside. A number of people, including me, have been bitten by these monkeys," Chourasia said.

He said they were upset with the civic body as it brings in monkey catchers, who free the animals in the nearby jungles, from where they return in a day or two.

"We want these monkeys to be sent to the Kanha National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park. This problem must be solved for good," Chourasia said.