High-stakes triangular election struggle in Purnea heats up in the midst of summer polls

Despite the scorching heat of summer, the spirit of electioneering remains undaunted in one of Bihar’s high-profile Lok Sabha seats, Purnea, scheduled for the polls in the second phase on April 26.

Notable Candidates in the Race

Purnea, named after the country’s oldest Shakti temple, Puran Devi temple, is witnessing a challenging triangular contest among Rajesh Ranjan, also known as Pappu Yadav (independent), Santosh Kushwaha (JD-U), and Bima Bharti (RJD). This election marks Bharti’s debut after switching allegiance from JDU to RJD.

Bima Bharti, the wife of a local strongman, Awadhesh Mandal, has been a five-time MLA from the Rupauli assembly seat in Purnea and previously served as the Minister of Sugarcane Industries in the Nitish government.

With approximately 40% of the population being Muslim, this district holds significant importance in the election, attracting major parties to invest their political capital to secure victory for their candidates.

Political Strategies Unveiled

The main opposition in Bihar, aiming to dent Nitish Kumar’s extremely backward classes vote bank, has nominated Bima Bharti, who hails from a highly backward caste. However, Pappu Yadav, a three-time former MP from Purnea, has entered the fray as an independent, transforming the contest into a challenging triangular one.

According to political analysts, Yadav’s entry has complicated the scenario for both the incumbent and RJD-nominated candidates. The fervor of the high-decibel campaigning resonates across the constituency, where 90% of the populace depends on agriculture or migrates to other states for work. Almost every wall of houses or public spaces is adorned with posters of candidates carrying election slogans like ‘Berozgari Hatao’ or ‘Modi ki Guarantee.’

A Dilemma for Voters

As the constituency heads into a direct and challenging triangular contest with Pappu Yadav as an independent candidate, the voters seem to be caught in a Catch-22 situation. Recently, Pappu Yadav, expecting a nomination as the party candidate from Purnea, merged his party, the Jan Adhikar Party(JAP), with Congress. However, due to seat-sharing within Mahagathbandhan, Congress had to cede this high-profile seat to the RJD. Determined not to stay idle, heavyweight Rajesh Ranjan decided to contest as an independent. Situated about 200 km from Patna, adjacent to Nepal and Bengal, the Purnea LS seat is dominated by voters primarily dependent on agriculture and migrating to other cities.

However, this time, the reluctance of migrated voters to return for voting has left the candidates anxious.

Voices from the Crowd

Raghuvir Das, who recently returned from Chennai with his wife to vote in Dhandha, expressed, “Those who are out of the state for work are unwilling to return for voting, considering it a futile exercise. ‘Koi kuch nahi karta garibo ke bas vote leta hai’ (No one does anything for the poor, they just want votes),” he remarked, estimating that only 2-3% of migrated laborers are expected to return to Purnea this time.

While Yadav, once known as a strongman, portrays himself as the “son of the soil,” incumbent MP Santosh Kushwaha (JD-U) seeks his third term promising further development, echoing the slogans of “developments done” and “developments to be done” akin to Modi and Nitish Ki Guarantee. The RJD candidate relies on the MY equation (Muslim-Yadav vote bank) and the mobilization of impoverished sections and OBC voters. “Lalu is the leader who is heard now, and Bima Bharti has been fielded as his choice candidate, so we would not go with any other. Jo saheb ki choice wo sab hum sab ka” (Lalu’s choice is our choice in this election), remarked Ramanand Yadav and Murli Mahto, both rural voters working as masons in Purnea town.

While Lord Ram is revered in Purnea, voting based on the temple issue is not as widely accepted as anticipated by the NDA, especially since the BJP think-tank might have been planning to capitalize on it in this election. Purnea has emerged as a single LS seat witnessing triangular contests, attracting almost all senior leaders from the ruling NDA and the opposition to ensure the victory of their candidates.

“Purnea is everything to me. I live for Purnea and will die for it,” Pappu Yadav told the media, while Kushwaha claimed to have done a lot for Purnea with much more in the pipeline. He runs a campaign on social media with the slogan “Pranam Purnea’ (Salute to Purnea), promising an airport, the primary demand of the local populace.