BJP, Jan Suraaj Party, HAM(S) name candidates for Bihar bypolls; BJP leader R.C.P. Singh to form new party

Tarari, Ramgarh, Belaganj and Imamganj seats were vacated after the members representing them in the State Assembly were elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general elections.

In Bihar where four Assembly constituencies — Ramgarh, Taraari, Belaganj and Imamganj — are going to bypolls on November 13, the BJP, the newly formed Jan Suraaj Party of Prashant Kishor and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) on Saturday (October 19, 2024) candidates to some of the seats. Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP leader R.C.P. Singh announced that he would form a new party and snap ties with the BJP.

The BJP has announced that Vishal Prashant will contest from Tarari and Ashok Kumar Singh from Ramgarh.

The Jan Suraaj Party, after naming former Lieutenant General Sri Krishna Singh for Tarari, has announced pediatrician Jitendra Paswan for Imamganj (reserved) and academician Khilafat Hussain for Belaganj. Mr. Paswan is popular in Imamganj for helping people during the COVID pandemic. Mr. Hussain is a renowned mathematics teacher. Mr. Kishor had earlier announced that Muslims would get fair share of ticket distribution in the party in the Assembly elections next year.

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), a NDA constituent, has named Deepa Manjhi, daughter-in-law of party chief and Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi, as the candidate for Imamganj in Gaya district. Imamganj Assembly seat was vacated after Mr. Manjhi who won from here in the 2020 Assembly polls was elected to Lok Sabha from Gaya in the 2024 general elections.

Yadav bastion

The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal is likely to field Vishwanath Yadav, son of party MP Surendra Prasad Yadav, for Belaganj. Mr. Surendra, who was elected MLA from Belaganj in 2020, vacated the seat after winning from Jehanabad LS seat in 2024. Ruling party JD(U) is likely to name Manorama Devi (from Yadav community) for Belaganj, which has traditionally been a stronghold of the Yadav community.

Belaganj has also a sizeable population of Muslim voters. Mr. Kishor, by fielding a Muslim candidate here, has aimed at weakening the traditional MY(Muslim-Yadav) vote bank of Rashtriya Janata Dal. “When two candidates from Yadav community (of RJD and JD(U)) contest, there is a fair chance for a Muslim candidate to bag the seat this time, and this could be Mr. Kishor’s strategy for the Belaganj bypoll”, said political analyst Nawal Kishore Choudhary.

The parties are yet to announce their candidates for the Ramgarh seat. The RJD may field Ajit Singh, son of party State president Jagdanand Singh, for the seat. The Ramgarh seat fell vacant after Sudhakar Singh, brother of Ajit Singh, who represented it was elected to Lok Sabha from Buxar in 2024. Ajit Singh was formerly with the JD(U).

The byelection results will be announced on November 23.

R.C.P Singh to form party

Meanwhile, former Union Minister and BJP leader R.C.P. Singh, a close confidante of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for over 20 years, on Saturday announced that he would form a new party as “he was not getting due weightage and any responsibility in his party (BJP)”. On Saturday, he told reporters, “We’re going to provide an option for Bihar with a new party. I’ve been an organisational man wherever I have been. Even now I’ve been meeting party workers at the ground level but was not getting any responsibility or due weightage in the party.”

Mr. Singh’s recent posters in Patna carrying the cinematic proclamation “Tiger abhi zinda hai (Tiger is still alive)” created a buzz in the political circles of the State. When asked if his party would field candidates for all 243 Assembly seats when the State goes to polls next year, Mr. Singh replied, “Politics is a matter of options, and if there are options, several leaders from several parties would come with us.”

Published - October 19, 2024 08:14 pm IST