Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: The minorities are not in a minority at Kishanganj, the Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar’s northeastern region. Reason: Around 68% of the electorate are Muslims in this parliamentary seat, which shares its border with West Bengal in the east, Nepal in the north and Bangladesh in the southeast.
No wonder, every BJP leader, be it Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah harps on ‘infiltrators from Bangladesh’ in their speeches, with the latter even stating that “if the Congress and the RJD are voted to power, then there will be riots, arson and oppression of the minorities.”
Such rhetoric has been repeated by the NDA leaders election after election. But the unperturbed voters of Kishanganj have stood loyal to the Congress since 2009. So much so that when the NDA swept the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 39 out of the 40 seats in Bihar, it was Kishanganj that gave Congress its sole MP from the state, Mohammad Javed. He is, however, locked in a triangular battle with the JD(U)’s Mujaheed Alam and AIMIM’s Akhtarul Iman.
No different is the adjoining parliamentary constituency Katihar which has 44.4% Muslims. Here too, the seat has been allotted by the Mahagatbandhan to the Congress, which has fielded veteran Tariq Anwar, who has represented Katihar five times since 1980 but lost to JD(U)’s Dulal Goswami in 2019.
This time too, Tariq is in a straight contest with Goswami. However, unlike 2019, where Pulwama played a major role in swinging the tide in NDA’s favour, the 2024 poll is devoid of any such emotive issue and could tilt the balance either way.
Interesting contest
The most interesting battle, however, is in Purnea. In theory, the contest is locked between the JD(U) sitting MP Santosh Kushwaha and RJD’s Bima Bharti. But for all practical purposes, it’s the Independent candidate Pappu Yadav who is reportedly hogging the limelight.
Not allowed to be fielded as the Congress candidate by RJD chief Lalu Prasad (who is calling the shots in Bihar’s Mahagatbandhan), the five-term MP Pappu is in the fray as an Independent.
In the Banka seat JD(U)’s sitting MP Girdhari Yadav is locked in a battle with RJD nominee Jaiprakash Yadav. The second phase of polling in the state will be held on April 26.
Nitish pens letter to voters
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday penned an open letter to people urging them to vote for the NDA, reports PTI from Patna.
The JD(U) supremo asserted that serving Bihar was his dharma and that the entire state was like his family.
The CM without mentioning his arch-rival Lalu Prasad and RJD by name said in the opening remark “You would recall the plight of Bihar under the previous regime... You all know of the sacrifices I made since 2005 for Bihar’s regeneration...”
“In the end I would make the appeal that your constituency is going to polls. Please help the NDA achieve the target of winning all 40 seats in Bihar” he added.