Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Jitam Ram’s personal past worries the NDA, yet history favors the Manjhis and the BJP in Gaya

Amidst the inaugural phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, scheduled for April 19, Bihar will bear witness to the electoral fervor in four pivotal constituencies: Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui, and Nawada. These constituencies collectively hold the destinies of 38 candidates in their hands, with Gaya boasting the highest number of contenders at 14.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) triumphed in these four constituencies: the BJP secured victory in Aurangabad, JD-U laid claim to Gaya, and the erstwhile united Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) emerged victorious in Jamui and Nawada.

Shall the BJP’s backing sway the tide for Jitan Ram Manjhi in Gaya? This time around, the former Chief Minister and representative of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), Jitan Ram Manjhi, enters the fray as the NDA’s nominee for the Gaya Lok Sabha seat. Manjhi, a seasoned contender who has vied for the Gaya seat three times before, now squares off against the RJD candidate and local luminary, Kumar Sarvjeet. Sarvjeet, a former minister and incumbent MLA from the Bodh Gaya constituency, enjoys considerable popularity among the denizens here.

Reflecting on Gaya’s electoral history, one observes a predilection amongst voters for candidates hailing from the Manjhi community. Nonetheless, Jitan Ram Manjhi himself has not been the beneficiary of this favor, having tasted defeat in all three of his previous endeavors.

The Gaya Lok Sabha seat stands as a bastion for the BJP Buoyed by the formidable track record of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Manjhi now harbors hopes of shattering his streak of losses.

The BJP has historically dominated the Gaya Lok Sabha seat, emerging victorious in 1989, 1998, 1999, 2009, and 2014. Hari Manjhi, representing the BJP, clinched victory in the Gaya Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014. In 2019, Vijay Manjhi of the JDU emerged triumphant on this seat after it was ceded by the BJP as part of a seat-sharing agreement.

In the 2019 elections, Vijay Manjhi secured this seat with a margin of approximately 1.5 lakh votes, surpassing his nearest rival, Jitan Ram Manjhi, who garnered 3,14,581 votes. The voter turnout in 2019 stood at 56 percent.

Comprising six assembly segments—Sherghati, Bodh Gaya, Gaya Town, Belaganj, Wazirganj, and Barachatti—the Gaya Lok Sabha seat last witnessed victory for the Congress party in 1984. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), under the leadership of Lalu Prasad, emerged victorious in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

Presently, the Gaya (SC) Lok Sabha constituency is home to a total of 30 lakh voters, with approximately 30 percent belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, followed by about 11 percent Muslims.

The Scheduled Caste (SC) electorate holds sway in the Gaya Lok Sabha seat