RJD faces internal rebellion, BJP candidate ‘outsider’ tag

Around 115 kms from Patna, Nawada Lok Sabha constituency, in its current form, was carved out in delimitation in 2008 and since then, it has elected NDA candidates, the last being LJP’s Chandan Singh. Chandan Singh is not contesting this time as the seat went to the BJP as part of seat sharing in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The constituency, which has a good population of Bhumihars and Yadavs, consists of six Assembly segments — Barbigha, Rajauli (SC), Hisua, Nawada, Gobindpur and Warsaliganj. Three of them went to the RJD and one to the Congress in the 2020 Assembly elections, while one each went to BJP and JD(U).

In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP won the seat twice, in 2009 and 2014, while LJP won it in 2019. Prior to 2014, Sanjay Paswan (1999) and Kameshwar Paswan (1996) of BJP had won the seat, which has also sent representatives from RJD, Congress, Left and the erstwhile Janata Party and also an Independent since 1952.

This time, Nawada, which goes to vote in the first phase along with three other seats in Bihar on April 19, has eight candidates in the electoral fray, but the main fight is likely between BJP’s Vivek Thakur and RJD’s Shravan Kumar, who comes from the Kushwaha community. BSP is also contesting from here, as are two independents, including Vinod Yadav, an RJD rebel who is trying to make denial of ticket to a Yadav an issue with the help of local community leaders. Bhojpuri singer Gunjan Singh is also in the fray as an Independent. A local, he is from Bhumihar community.

Vivek Thakur, son of former union minister C P Thakur, is currently a Rajya Sabha member. A former member of the Bihar Legislative Council , he is banking on the Modi factor, the demographic profile of the seat that has favoured his community in the last three elections and the BJP since the Jan Sangh days.

“RJD has fielded a Kushwaha and therefore, Yadavs, who constitute a sizeable population here, are not very happy. Whether they drift away from RJD, only time will tell, but if they do, that can give a boost to Thakur’s prospects,” said professor Vijay Kumar, who is a native of Nawada.

RJD’s Shravan Kumar, on his part, is trying to play up the “outsider vs local” issue, which Thakur describes as a non-issue. Besides, he is hopeful that Yadavs and Muslims would be by his side due to the RJD to add to his own Kushwaha caste people, but former RJD state secretary Vinod Yadav’s candidature as an Independent and backing from others has caused some concern.

Vinod Yadav is the brother of former RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav, who was suspended from the party after his conviction in a rape case. In 2020 Nawada assembly election, Shravan Kumar had lost to Raj Ballabh Yadav’s wife Vibha Devi.

“RJD leaders have been seen openly sharing stage with Vinod Yadav and that could make things difficult for the RJD candidate,” says Ashok Kumar, a first-time voter, who lamented that Nawada was a pale shadow of neighbouring Nalanda in terms of development.

Aware that two of its MLAs are campaigning for Vinod Yadav, RJD is on alert. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav also campaigned in Nawada and raised the issue of “local vs outsider” and accused the BJP of reducing the constituency to its laboratory without delivering anything.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar also campaigned in Nawada and hit out at the RJD over dynastic politics and corruption, while showcasing the development initiatives of his government.

Issues abound in Nawada, which is economically backward due to largely subsistence agriculture. Lack of irrigation facilities is a big concern. The area also witnessed drinking water scarcity, but the Nitish Kumar government last year took its ambitious Gangajal water scheme to Nawada after Rajgir and Gaya. However, for irrigation, the farmers still have to depend on rain only, as the work on the proposed reservoir on the Sakri river has remained stuck for long despite becoming an issue every election. The same holds true for the closed sugar mill in Warsaliganj. But now a cement factory is to come up on the space.

“The problems of Nawada are like any other constituency. Migration is huge due to poverty and difficulty associated with agriculture. It was carved out of Gaya over five decades ago, but is yet to witness the change it deserves. It has rich tourism potential, but that has also remained largely unexplored despite a rich legacy, which drew leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad, Jaiprakash Narayan, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and others,” says professor Vijay Kumar.