Same-caste battles in six Gaya seats

GAYA: An analysis of the caste affiliation of the main contestants in Gaya district makes interesting reading. Six of the 10 constituencies of the district are set to witness contest in which the main rivals belong to the same caste. The general perception is that urban constituencies are less vulnerable to the caste virus but Gaya trend defies the perception.
Never before in the electoral history of Gaya Town, the main contestants belonged to the same caste. It is for the first time that Gaya town too would be witnessing the same caste contest as Prem Kumar, six-time winner and BJP MLA, and his Congress rival Priye Ranjan Dimple belong to the same caste. Both Prem and Dimple are Chandravanshis, the caste having a very strong numerical presence in Gaya town.
Denying the perception that caste consideration dominated the search for party's candidate, senior Congress leader Md, Moosa said winnability, not caste consideration, went in favour of Priye Ranjan Dimple, the Congress candidate. Dimple's competitor in the race for party ticket included Prof Arun Kumar Prasad, a Kayastha, and Chaitanya Palit, a Vaishya. Scale tilted in Dimple's favour as the party apparently wanted a casteman pitted against the somewhat invincible six-time BJP MLA Kumar. As per sources, Congress strategists believe that if Dimple gets even 25% of his caste vote, he will give Prem a run for his money.
Besides Gaya Town, the other constituencies where the main rivals belong to the same caste are Bodh Gaya, Barachatti, Sherghati, Gurua and Wazirganj. Both Sarvajeet, the RJD candidate from Bodh Gaya, and Shyam Deo, his BJP rival and sitting MLA, are Paswans. In Barachatti, both Sudha Manjhi and Samata Devi, BJP and JD(U) candidates, respectively, are Mushars.
Sherghati witnesses a direct fight between two Yadavs. Vinod Yadav, the sitting JD(U) MLA and panchayati raj minister, is being challenged by fellow casteman and HAM(S) candidate Krishna Yadav.