Darbhanga Lok Sabha seat this time may have Mukesh Sahni’s candidature representing Mahagathbandhan. A consensus on Vikasheel Insaf Party chief among constituents of Mahagathbandhan seems to gain the ground. In this context, Tejashwi Yadav accompanied Mukesh Sahni to meet Lalu Yadav in Ranchi.
Sahni’s argument demanding Darbhanga Lok Sabha seat is- his candidature from Mahagathbandhan will add support of Mallah community strengthening the Muslim-Yadav equation. The Scheduled Caste (SC) constitutes 13% of the total population of Darbhanga. Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha seat was a probable choice of Sahni but as he belongs to Darbhanga, his demand seems justified. An obstacle may hinder Mahagathbandhan’s ride towards seat sharing is Darbhanga’s sitting MP Kirti Azad’s candidature.
In upcoming elections, BJP is not going to opt for Azad due to his open criticism against the party. On the other hand, Kirti Azad’s candidature from any political party is not fixed yet.
As RJD and Congress are major constituents in Mahagathbandhan. Due to this, it is expected that they may fail to flex muscle in choosing seats with an aim to fulfill demands of their partners which includes RLSP, HAM, VIP and LJD-. To counter this, two major parties will have to leave few Lok Sabha seats on which they fought last election.
In 2014, RJD fielded candidates on 27 seats (Patliputra, Arrah, Buxar, Karakat, Gaya, Jehanabad, Vaishali, Sheohar, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Jhanjharpur, Nawada, Araria, Madhepura, Siwan, Maharajganj, Chhapra, Ujiarpur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, West Champaran, East Champaran and Jamui) Out of which it won only four seats i.e. Araria, Madhepura, Banka and Bhagalpur.
Whereas Congress fielded candidates on 13 seats (Valmiki Nagar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Purnea, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Hajipur, Samastipur, Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Sasaram, Aurangabad and Kathihar) but retained only two seats- Supaul, Kishanganj. Approximately both RJD and Congress may have to cut short five seats each.
