Darbhanga Lok Sabha seat is knows as Mithilanchal’s prime region is ready to undertake the electoral battle of general election in the fourth phase of polling. With lot of hue and cry over seat sharing and fielding candidates by both Mahagathbandhan and NDA, this Lok Sabha seat has witnessed ups and down in short span of time.
Under Darbhanga Lok constituency, six assembly segments lie- Gaura Bauram, Benipur, Alinagar, Darbhanga Rural, Darbhanga, Bahadurpur. Both the BJP and the RJD account for three seats each in the Assembly.
The mood changes a little ahead in Alinagar, the bastion of seven-term RJD MLA and former Bihar finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time from Darbhanga.
Son of former Bihar chief minister Bhagwad Jha Azad, Kirti Azad defeated RJD’s four-time MP Ali Ashraf Fatmi in 2014 by nearly 34,000 votes, while JDU’s Sanjay Kumar Jha was a distant third with 1.04-lakh votes.
Candidate selection for this particular seat has annoyed leaders belonging to Mahagathbandhan and the NDA. Sanjay Jha of the JDU and Ashraf Ali Fatmi of the RJD and Kirti Azad, ex member of BJP were among renowned names to get disheartened after decision of seat announcements.
Renewed caste arithmetic for parties:
While the RJD led Mahagathbandhan is banking on Muslim-Yadav votes, the BJP is keeping hope on its support base among upper castes as well as voters loyal to the JDU and the LJP. Voters belonging to the Other Backward Class may also play a vital role in determining the poll results.
BJP has fielded former legislator Gopal Ji Thakur aspiring to use his local image whereas the RJD is confident of Abdul Bari Siddiqui’s clean image and contribution in developing the region as seven time MLA.
The Nishad Factor:
Few months back, Darbhanga was first choice of Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni as Sahnis constitute a significant chunk in Darbhanga. But possibilities of Nishad community siding with the Mahagathbandhan seems tough as road, toilet, electricity have become reality for us reiterates Jaldhar Sahni an elder member of the Sahni community in Narayanpura area of rural Darbhanga constituency.
It accounts nearly more than 10% of Darbhanga’s total population. Nishad community majorly will side with the BJP as a saying among them is making rounds…”Mukesh Sahni toh beta hai par vote toh Modi ko jayega.”Except the Nishad factor, Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) are set to side with the Mahagathbandhan.
Darbhanga Lok Sabha Constituency, Bihar: Current MP, Candidates, Polling Date and Election Results
Adjoining to this, a section within the Muslim community is not happy with RJD’s treatment towards Ali Ashraf Fatmi as he enjoys a reputation of being a grounded masses leader with an understanding of booth level election machinery, voter’s consciousness etc. Minorities based in West region of Darbhanga city may spell anger sympathizing with Ashraf Ali Fatmi creating a roadblock in electoral results of Mahagathbandhan.
At Darbhanga’s Maithili Sahitya Parishad, youth artists who were also to be first time voters were excited about upcoming voting of 29th April. In conversation with Newsd it was found that their demand solely remains quality education, an educated leader who works on strengthening system that unites masses and not divides them on identity.
Even few of them had mocked that those questioning government policies in this country are ‘anti-national’ in today’s trend. Narendra Modi’s reference to the terror modules busted in Darbhanga over the years has not gone well among the youth. His statement was considered as an election rhetoric which had missed the target named development.
