A high-decibel campaign for the first phase of Lok Sabha election in Bihar ended on Wednesday. Votes will be cast in Nawada, Gaya, Jamui and Aurangabad on April 19.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will be fighting on all four seats for the grand alliance. It will face the BJP in Nawada and Aurangabad, The Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) in Jamui, and Hindustani Awam Morcha in Gaya. Altogether 38 candidates are in the fray.
RJD has fielded two Kushwahas – Abhay from Aurangabad and Shravan from Nawada, and Dalits – Kumar Sarvjeet from Gaya and Archana Ravidas from Jamui. Both the BJP candidates belong to dominant castes. While Sushil Kumar Singh from Aurangabad is a Rajput, Nawada candidate belong to politically dominant Bhumihar caste.
Prime Minister Modi addressed rallies in Jamui, Nawada and Gaya. In Aurangabad, Singh, a three-time MP, is facing a tough challenge from RJD candidate in view of sizeable population of Kushwahas. Former chief minister and HAM patron Jitan Ram Manjhi is pitted against RJD candidate Sarvjeet in Gaya and is vying for a fourth victory. Sarvjeet is the sitting RJD MLA from Bodh Gaya.
In Jamui, LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan's brother-in-law, Arun Bharti, is pitted against Ravidas, who is the wife of a local RJD leader Mukesh Yadav. In Nawada, Bhumihar, Yadav, Kushwaha, Vaishya, as well as Dalits, EBCs, and OBCs have sizeable population. BJP's Vivek Thakur faces a tough challenge from RJD candidate Shrawan Kushwaha in Nawada. Both will also need to contend with tough independent contenders in the fray – Vinod Yadav and Bhojpuri singer Gunjan Singh. Bhumihars account for 22-25 per cent ofthe electorate here.
