Much is at risk for Nitish as five seats are up for voting

PATNA: As the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections draws to a close on Wednesday night, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) will put their party to the test in five constituencies: Banka, Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj, and Bhagalpur. On April 26, polls are scheduled to take place in these locations.
JD (U) has nominated candidates from the NDA for all five seats; two are in the state’s eastern area and three are in the Seemanchal region, which is mostly Muslim.

The fact that the chief minister sent an impassioned letter to voters on Tuesday, detailing his labor since 2005 to transform the state, suggests that he has a lot riding on his success. With the exception of Kishanganj, which Congress won, JD (U) has won four of the five seats in the 2019 elections.
Prominent BJP figures have endorsed JD (U) candidates in the area, including PM Modi, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, and party president J. P. Nadda. Given that Seemanchal is mostly a Muslim area, the BJP awarded Nitish’s party all three seats in recognition of his secular persona. In a notable deviation from his usual campaign approach, the chief minister was seen doing roadshows in Bhagalpur on Tuesday.

In the second round, the Congress is vying for three seats from the opposition INDIA, namely Kishanganj, Katihar, and Bhagalpur, while the RJD is vying for two seats, Purnia and Banka. While party MP Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have endorsed the candidates, former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad has been the front-runner, traveling the state to rally support for the nominees.
While a straight battle between the candidates of the NDA and India is anticipated in Katihar, Bhagalpur, and Banka, there will be triangular fights in Purnia and Kishanganj. While Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has fielded Akhtarul Iman from Kishanganj, Pappu Yadav, whose repeated appeals to RJD to spare Purnia for him fell on deaf ears, has joined as an independent.
The other two candidates in Kishanganj are Congress’s current MP, Mohd Jawed, and JD (U)’s Mujahid Alam. Congress may lose support from Jawed as a result of AIMIM’s admission. Nitish is depending on his reputation as a secular leader, but a lot of voters in the area have publicly said that they would vote to remove the BJP from power, so Alam could have to deal with the public’s wrath. Since the Congress party won in 2014 and 2019 despite the Modi wave, Kishanganj has up until now been seen as a safe seat.
In Katihar, Congress veteran and five-time MP Tariq Anwar is facing off against JD (U) candidate Dulal Chandra Goswami. Prominent members of the BJP, such as Amit Shah, actively promoted him. Even though Goswami defeated Anwar in 2019 with a margin of over 57,000 votes, defeating anti-incumbency will be difficult.
People may vote for change this time in Purnia, where JD (U)’s Santosh Kushwaha—who won in 2014 and 2019—is competing against RJD’s Bima Bharti and Independent Pappu Yadav. Well-liked in Purnia, five-term Member of Parliament Pappu has stood for the seat three times in the Lok Sabha. Regarding RJD, Tejashwi’s personal implores to the state’s populace to back Bharti might be rather beneficial.
Ajit Sharma of the Congress and Ajay Kumar Mandal of the JD (U) will face off in Bhagalpur. Mandal might be re-elected by voters just to increase Modi’s prospects. Nonetheless, a lot of people believe that Mandal “vanished” after winning in 2019. It will be difficult to compete with the might of the NDA in Bhagalpur, where the Congress is fighting for the first time in recent years. Jai Prakash Yadav of RJD and Girdhari Yadav of JD (U) are engaged in a straight battle in Banka. Against the same opponent in 2019, Girdhari prevailed by more than two lakh votes. Jai Prakash did, however, win the seat in 2014 in spite of the Modi wave, so he should not be taken lightly.