As 2019 Lok Sabha election is approaching near, Mahagathbandhan and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar are tightening their seat belts. Darbhanga Lok Sabha constituency is one such seat which is set to have more than one contender from both the camps.
Darbhanga Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following six assembly segments- Gaura Bauram, Benipur, Alinagar, Darbhanga Rural, Darbhanga and Bahadurpur. This seat is known to be a battlefield between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
In previous years Kirti Azad was the BJP candidate who stood victorious in two consecutive elections of 2009 and 2014. On both the occasions he defeated RJD’s Md Ali Ashraf Fatmi with a margin of 46,453 votes and 35,043 votes respectively whereas in 2004 Fatmi defeated Azad by a margin of 1,43,463 votes.
This time NDA will have a different strategy for Darbhanga seat. The contemporary scenario is a bit different from past as Kirti Azad remains suspended from BJP, JDU is set to field Sanjay Kumar Jha from this seat but the name of former BJP MLA Gopalji Thakur is also making rounds.
But Mahagathbandhan is expected to have loggerhead on putting up a candidate. The question arises which party from the grand alliance is going to field its candidate?
On one hand, Kirti Azad is expected to be fielded on Congress ticket whereas ‘Son of Mallah’ and chief of Vikasheel Insaf Party (VIP) is eyeing this constituency. 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.
RJD’s Md Ali Ashraf Fatmi is also one contender whose candidature cannot be ruled out as he was runner up in two consecutive elections.
NDA and Mahagathbandhan’s way forward is no easy to decide the candidate for Darbhanga Lok Sabha seat. Let us see which party within both the folds flexes muscle to grab the parliamentary seat.
