Why were Lalu and Nitish fielded in the by-elections for two assembly seats in Bihar?

Posted on 27th Oct 2021 by rohit kumar

The victory or defeat of any party in the by-elections to be held on October 30 at Tarapur and Kusheshwar, two seats of Bihar assembly, does not seem to change the power in the state, but the aggression that RJD and JDU are showing, Lalu reached Patna after almost three years. Politics has intensified with the entry of Prasad Yadav. The power may not change, but this by-election can be a measure of the image of power.

 

The Nitish government of the four-party National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is running with a modest majority in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly, so the by-election is expected to gain political significance, despite the claim of Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the main opposition party, RJD. Same as the one.

 

On the other hand, this by-election is like saving the credibility of JDU and the government amid the claims of development work done by the leader of JDU, the third party in the assembly, and the government of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

 

After the second wave of the Corona epidemic, this by-election in Bihar will also decide whether people are satisfied with the Nitish government regarding Corona and flood management. Since these seats have fallen vacant due to the death of JDU MLAs, the BJP is not in the electoral fray.

 

RJD-Congress increased distance

On the other hand, both the big parties of the Grand Alliance, RJD and Congress, are seeking votes to defeat each other in both seats. making rhetoric at each other. Kanhaiya Kumar is an attacker on RJD, while Lalu Prasad Yadav is mocking Bhakt Charan Das, Bihar in charge of Congress, calling him 'Bhakchonnahar Das'.

 

Former Deputy Chief Minister and MP Sushil Kumar Modi took a dig at the clash between the two and said that "no matter how much abuse is given to the Congress, it will not leave the side of RJD even after taking a sip of humiliation to save its existence."

 

At the same time, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president and MP Chirag Paswan's candidate are also contesting.

 

JDU MLA from Tarapur and former minister Mevalal Chaudhary died due to corona infection, while the seat of Kusheshwar place fell vacant due to the death of JDU MLA Shashi Bhushan Hazari there.

 

Yadav and Kushwaha dominated Tarapur seat

 

The Tarapur assembly seat falling in the Jamui parliamentary constituency is associated with the defeat and victory of Nitish Kumar's ultra-backward strategy. In the last four assembly elections, only the candidates of Kushwaha Samaj are winning the elections and in the last three elections, this seat has been occupied by only one family.

 

Vaishya voters also have a lot of influence in this Yadav and Kushwaha-dominated assembly constituency. Along with this, there is also a fair number of minorities and upper castes in the area. In the last assembly elections, JDU's candidate Mevalal Choudhary defeated Divya Prakash, daughter of senior RJD leader and former Union Minister Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, by nearly seven thousand votes.

 

Like in the last three assembly elections, JDU has placed its bet on Rajiv Kumar Singh, who comes from the Kushwaha caste, to represent the local interests.

 

Rajiv Kumar Singh, who is considered to be a domineering in the area, is a graduate and has contested assembly elections thrice. They have been associated with Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, hence people in the area also call them political tourists.

 

On the other hand, RJD has played the Vaishya card for the first time away from Yadav or Kushwaha society. From here, RJD has fielded Arun Sao, a candidate of about 50 years. Arun Sao, who has completed LLB studies, is a businessman and has once contested the assembly elections on RJD ticket.

 

Apart from this, Congress has fielded Rajesh Mishra as an independent candidate last time, while Chandan Kumar is in the fray from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

 

JDU's Tarapur block president Jai Krishna Singh is confident about the victory of his candidate. According to him, "Our candidates have been old social workers. They have been associated with us since the time of the Samta Party. The people of the area have full faith in them."

 

At the same time, RJD's Tarapur Block President Mohammad Rafiuzma also claims victory and asks "what work will the party which could not save its MLA in the corona pandemic do for the general public? First, our leaders would go to Vaish Samaj seeking votes. And this time we have honored him by fielding a candidate of the same society. Our victory is certain with the slogan of 'Lantern Chhap' silently."

 

Between JDU and RJD in the Tarapur assembly constituency, local journalist Rana Gauri Shankar says that "Vaishyas and Rajputs can be decisive voters. How much do Congress and LJP (Ram Vilas) candidates affect JDU's vote bank? We will know after the result, but there is bound to be a burglary. RJD has surprised the voters by giving Vaish candidates. Since JDU is the ruling party, it can benefit from it. Overall, the electoral battle here is going to be very interesting."