Madhepura is one of the few seats that the JDU is stubbornly retaining in the seat-sharing talks, BJP sources said. (Ministry of Public Transport)
Bihar chief minister must prove that his ‘Sushasan Babu’ credentials are intact to ensure his candidate wins from seats that BJP survey found best given to others
The third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will see several high-profile seats going to polls. In West Bengal’s Behampur, Adil Ranjan Chowdhury will battle TMC’s aggressive Yusuf Pathan, while in Uttar Pradesh’s Maipuri, Dimple Yadav will defend Yadav. The fortress of the Duff family. However, if the stakes are highest for one person, it is Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who must prove his alignment with the BJP by ensuring that the JDU retains the Madhepura seat Political Relevance – This seat was previously represented by Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav.
Connecting Muslims and YADAVS
No non-Yada has won from this constituency since 1967. Of the more than 1.4 million voters in Madhepura, 500,000 are Yadavs and 200,000 are Muslims.
Traditionally, they voted en masse for the RJD, but that changed after Lalu Yadav stepped down in 2009. However, even during the Modi tsunami of 2014, the RJD regained seats. Finally, in 2019, the Modi factor and polarization made half a million Yadavs side with JDU’s Dinesh Yadav, who is also the JDU candidate this time.
Madhepura is one of the few seats that the JDU is stubbornly retaining in the seat-sharing talks, BJP sources said. Now, they say it is the JDU’s responsibility to retain the Yadav Fort when it goes to polls on Tuesday.
WHY NITISH TESTING?
Amid rumors that the BJP is keen on the top job, this seat poses a test to Nitish Kumar’s leadership in Bihar for two reasons. Dinesh Yadav not only carries anti-incumbency baggage but is also unpopular locally, BJP sources said. The BJP fears that despite the Modi factor and the support of 1.5 lakh Rajputs, 3 lakh OBCs and 2 lakh Brahmins, Yadav’s unpopularity could cost the NDA.
On a larger scale, Nitish Kumar must prove that his ‘Sushasan Babu’ credentials are intact enough in Bihar to ensure his candidate wins from seats that the BJP survey found were best given to others .
“Madhepura is a Yadav bastion that has traditionally favored the RJD. But Sharad Yadav won a JDU ticket in 2009 on the strength of Nitish Kumar’s popularity and the JDU Dinesh Yadav won in 2019 on the strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, but much has changed since then and Nitish Kumar’s image as a good manager remains intact. Is it? If so, with Modi’s popularity, JDU should have no problem retaining its seat.
But what the sources did not say is, what if JDU fails to retain Madhepura? Therefore, this seat is not just a constituency for Kumar. He is trying to prove his political clout in Bihar, where he is serving his ninth term as chief minister.
Check out the 2024 Lok Sabha election third phase schedule, main candidates and constituencies: news18 website.
