In Bihar, 17 LS seats have been won by same caste candidate since 2009; 8 of these by upper castes

The Aurangabad seat, known as Bihar’s Chittorgarh (an erstwhile Rajput bastion in Rajasthan), was once associated with the family of prominent Rajput leader and former Bihar Chief Minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha, who won the seat in 1952, 1971, 1977, 1980 and 1984. His daughter-in-law Shyama Sinha won it in 1999 and his son and former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar won in 2004. Since 2009, Auranganbad has been represented by Sushil Singh.

MAP: Seats where caste groups are influential

The caste composition of Bihar’s MPs (MAP by Anjishnu Das)

Bhumihars have won the past three times in Nawada and Munger seats. The BJP’s Bhola Singh won Nawada in 2009, followed by the BJP’s Giriraj Singh in 2014 and ally LJP’s Chandan Singh in 2019. This time, the NDA’s candidate is BJP Bhumihar leader Vivek Thakur. In Munger, while the JD(U)’s Lalan Singh won in 2009, the LJP’s Veena Devi won in 2014. In 2019, Lalan Singh wrested the seat back, and is this time the NDA candidate.

In Darbhanga seat, the BJP’s Brahmin candidates have won the last three times – Kirti Azad in 2009 and 2014, followed by Gopalji Thakur in 2019. Thakur is seeking re-election from the seat. In Patna Saheb, upper caste Kayasthas held sway, from Shatrughan Sinha (then a BJP candidate) in 2009 and 2014, to former Union Minister and current candidate Ravi Shankar Prasad in 2019.

A senior JD(U) leader said that while it is natural for parties to pick constituencies as per caste strengths, “It is telling that eight constituencies are dominated by upper castes despite their cumulative population of about 11% in the state.”

Of nine of the 17 seats won by one caste since 2009, OBCs Yadavs – the single largest caste group in the state, as per the recent caste survey, at 14% of the state’s population — have accounted for just three, Madhepura, Madhubani and Pataliputra.

While the JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav won Madhepura in 2009, the RJD’s Pappu Yadav won it in 2014, before crossing over to the JD(U). In 2019, the JD(U)’s Dinesh Chandra Yadav won the seat. Madhepura is often referenced in a catchy local slogan, “Rome Pope ka, Madhepura Gope ka (Just as Rome belongs to the Pope, Madhepura belongs to Yadavs)”, owing to its history of electing Yadavs, including former CMs B P Mandal and Lalu Prasad.

The Madhubani seat was won by the BJP’s Hukumdev Narayan Yadav in 2009 and 2014, and his son Ashok in 2019. Ashok has been fielded by the BJP again. While Pataliputra was represented by the JD(U)’s Ranjan Yadav after he defeated Lalu in 2009, it has since been represented by the BJP’s Ram Kripal Yadav, who defeated Lalu’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti in 2014 and 2019.

The Nalanda seat, often referred to as Kurmistan given its sizeable OBC Kurmi population, was won by JD(U) supremo and sitting CM Nitish Kumar in 2004. Since then, the party’s Kaushlendra Kumar has won the seat in three consecutive polls and is the nominee once again.

The OBC Koeris, also known as Kushwahas, have dominated the Karakat seat since 2009. While the JD(U)’s Mahabali Singh won in 2009 and 2019, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha won in 2014 with his now dissolved Rashtriya Lok Samta Party. Kushwaha is the NDA candidate for the upcoming polls.

The OBC Jaiswals, a sub-caste under Banias or Vaishya, have won the West Champaran seat since 2009, with the BJP’s Sanjay Jaiswal winning it in consecutive polls and seeking a fourth term this time.

In Muzaffarpur, the EBC Mallahs, also known as Nishads, are dominant. In 2009, the JD(U)’s Captain Jainarayan Nishad won the seat, followed by his son and BJP candidate Ajay Nishad in 2014 and 2019. Ajay has since switched over to the Congress after being denied a ticket by the BJP, which has fielded Raj Bhushan Nishad to likely set up a Nishad versus Nishad contest in Muzaffarpur.

Among SC candidates, Paswans have won the reserved Samastipur seat since 2009. While the JD(U)’s Maheshwar Hazari won in 2009, the LJP’s Ramchandra Paswan (the youngest brother of former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan) won in 2014 and 2019. After Ramchandra’s death, his son Prince Raj won the seat in 2019. This time, the LJP candidate is an SC Pasi in Sambhavi Choudhary, daughter of JD(U) Minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary, who is likely to face the Congress’s Sunny Hazari, the son of state minister Maheshwar Hazari.

In the SC reserved seat of Gaya, a Manjhi has won the seat each time since 2009. The BJP’s Hari Manjhi won in 2009 and 2014, followed by the JD(U)’s Vijay Kumar Manjhi in 2019. This time, the NDA candidate is Jitan Ram Manjhi, former CM and founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).

While a senior BJP leader said openly talking about caste “does not look good”, he admitted that the “social profile” of certain seats affects the party’s candidate selection strategy.

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari claimed: “We have moved beyond caste considerations on many seats in our bid to move beyond Muslim-Yadav politics, for an assimilative politics.”