The second phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar is set to present yet another challenge to the National Democratic Alliance. Four of the five seats going to polls on Thursday are held by the Mahagathbandhan allies.
Three seats on the border areas of north-east Bihar — Kishanganj, Purnea and Katihar — are Muslim-dominated and represented by the Congress and JD(U), while the other two — Bhagalpur and Banka — have RJD MPs. The BJP has not put up its candidate on any of these seats as they have gone to alliance partner JD(U) under the seat-sharing pact.
Triangular contest
In Kishanganj, it’s a triangular contest between the Congress, whose sitting MP Mohammed Asrarul Haq died in December 2018, the JD(U) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which has fielded its State chief Akhtarul Iman in the poll ring. The Congress has fielded Kishanganj MLA Javed Azad while the JD(U) has nominated Mahmood Ashraf on the seat. Around 70% voters of the constituency are from the minority community.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been extensively campaigning for Mr. Iman and drawing huge crowds, mostly young voters, through his fiery speeches. “This has been a traditional seat of the Congress and I don’t see any reason why people this time will vote otherwise,” said Salim Sahi, a young graduate from the district. The JD(U) is banking on development works done by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
On the neighbouring Katihar seat, the contest is between Congress candidate and five-time MP Tariq Anwar and JD(U) nominee Dulalchand Goswami. Mr. Anwar had won the seat in 2014 on Nationalist Congress Party ticket but recently he joined the Congress. Mr. Goswami, an extremely backward class leader making his debut in the Lok Sabha polls, is said to be a lightweight candidate against Mr. Anwar. However, the NCP too has fielded its candidate, former MLA Mohammed Shakur, to make it a triangular fight. Muslims constitute 38% of the electorate in the constituency.
On the Purnea seat, the JD(U) has renominated its sitting MP Santosh Kushwaha against Congress candidate and former MP Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh, brother of N.K. Singh, former chairman of the Finance Commission. Mr. Uday Singh recently quit the BJP to join the Congress. The Muslim voters in Purnea constitute about 40% of the electorate while the OBC and EBC voters too are in sizeable number. The NDA is hoping for a favourable outcome on this seat as a close contest is likely between the two equally powerful candidates.
In Bhagalpur and Banka, the RJD has renominated its sitting MPs Shailesh Kumar Mandal and Jai Prakash Yadav who had defeated BJP’s Shahnawaj Hussain and Putul Kumari respectively in the 2014 polls. The JD(U) has fielded Ajay Kumar Mandal in Bhagalpur and Girdhari Yadav on the Banka seat.
Ms. Putul Kumari, widow of former Union Minister Digvijay Singh and mother of Shreyasi Singh, gold medallist in 2018 Commonwealth Games, is contesting as an Independent candidate from Banka, giving nightmares to both her rivals.