OBCs form bulk of RJD’s Bihar list; Yadavs, EBCs follow

The party, which is contesting 23 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats as a part of the Mahagathbandhan, has not announced a nominee for Siwan, as the choice is open between former Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary and Hina Sahab, widow of former MP Mohammed Shahbuddin.

The RJD initially was to contest 26 seats but following a deal, gave three from its quota to Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). Bihar votes in all seven phases of the elections, from April 19 to June 1.

The RJD has also fielded six women – Ritu Jaiswal from Sheohar, Anita Devi Mahto from Munger, Bima Bharati from Purnea, Archana Ravidas from Jamui, and RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s to daughters – Misa Bharati from Pataliputra and Rohini Acharya from Saran.

Jaiswal, who has earned praise for her work as the mukhiya of Singhwahini village, is the wife of an IAS officer who has opted for voluntary retirement while Anita is the wife of former don-turned-politician Ashok Mahto.

The RJD has also fielded eight sitting legislators – Bodh Gaya MLA Kumar Sarvjeet from Gaya, Ramgarh MLA Sudhakar Singh from Buxar, Singheshwar legislator Chandrahas Choupal from Supaul, Jokihat MLA Shahnawaz Alam from Araria, Belaganj MLA Surendra Prasad Yadav from Jehanabad, Ujiarpur MLA Alok Kumar Mehta from Ujiarpur, and Lalit Yadav from Darbhanga. The other Muslim nominee is Ali Ashraf Fatmi, who has been fielded from the Madhubani seat.

Yadavs have been fielded by the party in Pataliputra (Misa Bharti), Saran (Rohini Acharya), Darbhanga (Lalit Yadav), Sitamarhi (Arjun Rai), Banka (Jayprakash Narayan), Valmiki Nagar (Dipak Yadav) and Madhepura (Kumar Chandra Deep).

The Kushwaha and Kurmi (Luv-Kush) combination has also seemingly been factored in the list as the party looks to expand its social base. Three OBC Koeris – Mehta from Ujiyarpur, Shravan Kushwaha from Nawada and Abhay Kushwaha from Aurangabad – have made the cut while Anita, an EBC who is married to an OBC Kurmi, also has found a place.

While other EBC candidates are in the fray from Munger, Supaul and Purnea, candidates from the Dalit community have been fielded from Jamui, Gaya and Hajipur (Shivchandra Ram).

Upper caste candidates include Sudhakar Singh, son of RJD state president Jaganand Singh and former muscleman Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla from Vaishali.