Litmus test for RJD's social outreach
PATNA: RJD’s consistent attempts to move beyond its traditional Muslim-Yadav (MY) vote bank will face the first ‘field test’ during the first phase of Lok Sabha election, scheduled to be held in four seats on April 19.
RJD has fielded two Kushwahas in the first phase as the party has fielded Abhay Kushwaha from Aurangabad and Shravan Kushwaha from Nawada. They are pitted against BJP candidates Sushil Kumar Singh and Vivek Thakur, both from upper castes.
Beside Aurangabad and Nawada, Jamui and Gaya will also go to the polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha election. Significantly all the four constituencies are by and large hit by Maoist menace.
In Gaya Lok Sabha constituency, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) patron and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and former minister and RJD candidate Kumar Sarvjeet are in the electoral fray. The seat was earlier represented in parliament by Vijay Kumar alias Vijay Manjhi of JD(U).
Though Gaya seat has been reserved for scheduled caste for the last 25 years, political parties mainly focus on votes of EBCs, OBCs and Upper castes. Over 2.5 lakh voters belonged to Manjhi (read Mushahar) community. In addition, members of Dusadh (Paswan), Dhobis (washermen) and Pasi (who sale toddy) are in sizable numbers.
On the other hand, LJP (Ram Vilas candidate) Arun Bharti, brother-in-law of the party president and MP Chirag Paswan will take on the RJD candidate Archana Ravidas are locked in a direct fight with each other. Chirag, who won elections from this seat twice—first in 2014 and 2019—has vacated the seat for his relative.
Ahead of the polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jamui on April 4 while Nawada on April 7. PM Modi had launched his election campaign from Jamui in 2019 election too. This shows Modi’s close relations with senior Paswans’ family.
Aurangabad MP Sushil Singh who belongs to Rajput caste has represented the seat for three successive terms by winning elections in 2009, 2014 and 2019 and is considered to be having an edge over his rival RJD candidate. Although Singh is also facing an anti-incumbency factor, Modi’s rallies are likely to nullify it.
RJD candidate is likely to face the heat of Congress workers, especially supporters of former MP Nikhil Kumar, who had raised a banner of revolt against party symbol allotted to RJD candidate much before official announcement of seat-sharing deal.
However, RJD is trying to dent into EBC-OBC votes by giving ticket to Kushwaha instead of any Upper caste Rajput. Aurangabad is known as ‘Chittaurgarh’ of Bihar due to sizable population of Rajputs in the constituency.
Denial of ticket to Nikhil Kumar, son of former Bihar chief minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha, may prove ‘suicidal’ for RJD. Aurangabad has been traditional seat of Congress. RJD has fielded its candidate for the first time in recent past.
Similarly, BJP candidate from Nawada Vivek Thakur, who like Singh also belongs to upper caste, Bhumihar, has an initial edge over RJD candidate Shravan Kushwaha in view of the sizable population of Bhumihars in the constituency. BJP candidate is son of former union health minister and noted physician Dr C P Thakur.
The seat was earlier held by Chandan Kumar (Singh) of LJP. Chandan, a Bhumihar by caste, is the brother of a don-turned politician Surajbhan Singh. In 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Vivek Thakur has been fielded by BJP. In 2014, Giriraj Singh (BJP) had won the seat.
In Jamui, Chirag’s brother-in-law Bharti is new to the constituency but since he has the strong backing of the LJP (Ram Vilas) chief, he is expected to romp to victory. Chirag has represented Jamui Lok Sabha constituency twice by winning elections in 2014 and 2019.
Gaya Lok Sabha constituency is likely to witness a keen contest between Manjhi and Sarvjeet. In the last Lok Sabha election, JD (U) candidate had defeated Manjhi by a margin of more than 1.52 lakh votes. Manjhi’s HAM was part of grand alliance in the last election.
Aurangabad Known as ‘Chittorgarh of Bihar’, the seat has been represented by candidates belonging to the Rajput community since 1955. Not a single non-Rajput has won the election from this seat till date. A big statue of Maharana Pratap sitting on his horse ‘Chetak’ greets the visitors to the town. The constituency has about 12.5% Rajputs, 11.2% Muslims, 9.6% EBCs, 15.5% Yadav and 6.5% Kushwaha (OBCs). Rajputs and Muslims could decide who will win the seat
Gaya has its religious significance as it’s based on the river Falgu. International acclaimed Mahabodhi Mahavihara (Temple), where Gautam Buddha got enlightenment, is located here. The seat is being represented by candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (Manjhi—Musahar) for the last 25 years and so. Muslims constitute 10.58% of the population while SCs have 17.15% of votes in the reserved constituency. In addition, STs have only 3.27% population. Scheduled Caste voters play a decisive role in the victory of the candidates.
Nawada
The seat is being represented by upper caste candidates as the Bhumihars play a significant role in the victory of the candidate. Muslims constitute 10.17% of the population while SCs have 24.66% votes. SCs have only 0.01% population in the constituency
Jamui Formerly known as Jambhyagram, Jamui is steeped in history dating back to the era of the Mahabharata. Its association with Jainism, particularly as a place where Lord Mahavir is believed to have attained divine knowledge, adds to its religious prominence. While Muslims constitute 10% of the population, SCs constitute 17.09%. STs have only 3.45% population in the seat