Lakshmeshwar Rai joins RJD: Amidst the excitement of Bihar Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party Janata Dal United (JDU) has suffered a major setback in Laukaha Assembly seat of Madhubani district. The ticket contender from this seat and former minister Lakshmeshwar Rai has shown a rebellious attitude and joined RJD when his demands were not met. Lakshmeshwar Rai had publicly announced on the day of the Chief Minister’s program that if he did not get a ticket from Laukaha, he would revolt and he did exactly that. This seat is also very special in the eyes of Nitish Kumar because it had always been a strong stronghold of JDU, but the party had to face defeat here in the 2020 assembly elections. The pain of this defeat is clearly visible in the JDU camp even today, which has now been further increased by the rebel Lakshmeshwar Rai. Now the NDA alliance is preparing to conduct a new and shocking experiment on this seat.
CM’s restlessness: pain of losing Laukaha
How deep is the political importance of Laukaha seat for Nitish Kumar, this is clearly visible from his recent actions. Nitish Kumar continued to reach Laukaha for the unveiling of the statue of former minister Hari Sah and the foundation stone laying and inauguration of canal projects, which was a clear message that this seat is in the VIP list for him. The Chief Minister’s program was organized in Ghoshin (Yadav) dominated Sirsia during Durga Puja. Where the CM, after taking part in the beneficial dialogue, addressed a large gathering and made an emotional appeal to give another chance. While addressing the gathering, JDU working president Sanjay Jha had openly expressed his pain. He had said that NDA failed to win three seats in Darbhanga and Madhubani, in which Laukaha was also included. He told that CM Nitish Kumar had kept Laukaha at number one in the list of wins. After Lakshmeshwar Rai’s rebellion, JDU is now considering a major ‘out of the box’ strategy to ensure victory on this seat.
JDU’s ‘shocking’ candidate plan
After the departure of Lakshmeshwar Rai, many contenders are in the race from Laukaha, including former MLA Satish Kumar Sah, District Councilor Vinod Sah and Kamalakant Bharti, but political analysts keeping an eye on JDU believe that the party can give a surprise candidate from here. JDU’s new strategy is to break into the core vote bank of the Grand Alliance, so that victory can be ensured. From Samata Party to JDU, the most backward candidate has been continuously contesting from Laukaha. But after 2000, JDU had to face defeat in the 2020 assembly elections. Current MLA Bharat Bhushan Mandal comes from the Dhanuk community of the upper caste, and RJD state president Manganilal Mandal is also from the same community, whose home is Phulparas. In such a situation, the vote of the backward classes is certain to be divided.
Eye on Yadav and Teli votes
JDU’s possible ‘out-of-the-box’ strategy seems to be focusing on Yadav and Teli votes. It was not an ordinary thing for CM Nitish Kumar to organize a program in Ghoshin (Yadav) dominated Sirsia. This area remained a Congress voter till 1990, after which it shifted towards Janata Dal and RJD. JDU is now trying to compensate for the loss caused to its core voters by breaking into here. JDU did not get the votes of Teli caste in the last elections. In 2015, BJP’s Pramod Priyadarshi got more than 60 thousand votes, and in 2020, LJP’s Late. Priyadarshi got more than 30 thousand votes. It is believed that Teli’s outright vote went to Priyadarshi, due to which JDU lost in 2020. This time too, if any party has not given a candidate from Teli caste, then there is talk of becoming an independent candidate, because recently a convention of Teli caste was organized in Laukha Assembly, in which it was decided to contest the election as an independent candidate and not a party. Political analysts believe that JDU may try to take advantage of the break in RJD’s core voters and for this purpose can give a surprise candidate who will ensure victory by breaking RJD’s votes.
