Gaya: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting in Bodh Gaya on Aug 22 and the positive response to Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra in the Magadh division, the bargaining position of both national parties has improved within their respective alliances. Political observers said in the 2020 assembly elections, both parties played second fiddle in NDA and Mahagathbandhan, respectively.
In 2020, JD(U) led the NDA in Magadh by contesting 11 of the 26 seats, while the
BJP fielded candidates in 10. BJP secured three of these 10 seats in four districts of the division but did not contest in Jahanabad.
JD(U), however, failed to win any of the 11 seats it contested in Magadh. Even in Ghosi, long considered Jagdish Sharma’s stronghold, his son Rahul suffered a decisive defeat to CPI(ML) candidate Ram Bali Yadav, who had been seen as an underdog throughout the campaign. In Rafiganj, JD(U) candidate Ashok Kumar Singh slipped to third place.
Within the NDA, HAM(S) emerged as the most successful with Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party winning three of the five seats it contested in Gaya, Jahanabad and Aurangabad.
In the Mahagathbandhan camp, CPI(ML) achieved a perfect strike rate by winning both Ghosi and Arwal. Congress secured three of the seven seats it contested.
Over the past five years, and particularly in recent months, political fortunes in the region have shifted. Gaya district BJP chief Prem Prakash argued that BJP’s growing strength must be reflected in seat-sharing. “BJP was much stronger now and this strength must be reflected in the distribution of seats based on the winnability of the candidates. Moreover, unlike other parties inside and outside the alliance, BJP has got a leader like Prem Kumar, the undisputed EBC leader of Bihar,” said Prakash.
In 2015, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Shah Nawaz Hussain, while addressing an election rally in Gaya, had presented Kumar as BJP’s potential CM face.
Congress functionaries also believe their position warrants a larger share of seats. Vijay Kumar Mithu, former AICC member, said, “Based on traction, Congress definitely deserves more than the seven seats it contested in 2020. The party would demand at least one more SC seat as it has significantly strengthened itself in recent times and though it has become more popular in all social groups, its footprint was most pronounced among the Dalits and EBCs.”
Ali Hussain, principal of a Gaya-based college and a political science teacher for nearly two decades, observed that the rival coalitions would eventually need to adjust. “Sooner or later, the rival coalitions will have to recalibrate their strategy in view of the ground realities,” he added.
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