Which way will Araria swing? Looking for signs at the birthplaces of its famous sons

Amid the backdrop of Renu’s thatched house, his youngest son Dakhineshwar Roy, talks of politics and literature. He recalls how his father, a pioneering novelist known for works such as Maila Anchal and Juloos, contested the 1972 Assembly elections from Forbesganj as an Independent and badly lost. “After the defeat, he said, ‘That a new pair of shoes is experienced only after walking in those shoes.’”

Though Renu never tried politics again, his elder son Padma Parag Venu successfully contested from Forbesganj as a BJP nominee in the 2010 Assembly polls. Dakshineshwar too nurses political ambitions and has his eye on contesting the Assembly elections next year from Forbesganj. While Renu was a socialist by temperament, his sons preferred to join the Hindu right-wing. Their political choice mirrors how the BJP slowly consolidated itself in the region over the decades.

Former MP Mohammed Taslimuddin’s home in Sisauna in Araria. (Express)

“Renu is a great symbol we hardly encashed as sons. But we cannot wait any longer. I wish to contest not just because I am his son but because our caste, EBC (Extremely Backward Class) Dhanuk, plays a key role in deciding the elections,“ says Dakshineshwar.

Of the estimated 20 lakh voters in Araria, there are about five lakh EBCs, 2.5 lakh OBC Yadavs, and three lakh Muslims. While the Araria and Jokihat Assembly segments of the parliamentary constituency are currently held by the Congress and the RJD, respectively, the Assembly segments of Narpatganj, Sikti, Raniganj, and Forbesganj are currently held by the BJP and the Janata Dal (United).

A fracture in the RJD’s Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) vote bank because of polarisation has always kept the BJP in the play in this constituency, which it won for the first time in 1998. Dakshineshwar believes the EBC votes and the popular support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi factor will help the BJP go past the finishing line this time too. In the constituency, the party has renominated sitting MP Pradeep Kumar Singh who, locals say, is facing anti-incumbency. Though Dakshineshwar admits that the anti-incumbency factor is present, he believes Singh, an EBC Gangei, “will sail through”.

At a recent public meeting, the BJP candidate said, “Narendra Modi fulfilled every promise he made in the last polls. He removed Article 370 and triple talaq and the grand Ram Temple was constructed in Ayodhya. Besides, we are giving 5 kg ration to people for free. On the one hand, there is a strong leader such as Modi and there is no leader from the INDIA bloc.”

Singh is up against Taslimuddin’s son and current Jokihat MLA Shahnawaz Alam of the RJD. Shahnawaz won the Lok Sabha bypoll in 2018 necessitated by his father’s death but to Singh the following year. Taslimuddin was born in the village of Sisauna in the Jokihat block.

“Though BJP has dominated Araria politics since 2004, Taslimuddin won the seat in the 2014 polls despite Modi’s popularity. Taslimuddin, who also represented Kishanganj during his political career, had an appeal across religious lines. But Araria has shown religious polarisation since 2019,” says Mohammed Maqsood Alam, an elderly resident of Jokihat.

Following his party leader Tejashwi Yadav’s lead, on the campaign trail Shahnawaz stuck to talking about migration, jobs, and communal harmony. He also spoke of how his father was a great symbol of communal harmony in the region. “We are talking about how Mahagathbandhan gave jobs in Bihar and how NDA at the Centre failed to create jobs,” Alam said at a meeting in Narpatganj last week.