RJD dithers on Siwan, names rest 22 candidates

Shahabuddin had won Siwan Lok Sabha seat four times.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD), which on Tuesday named its candidates for 22 of the 23 Lok Sabha seats it’s contesting in Bihar in the upcoming parliamentary polls in the country, has put on hold the name of its candidate from Siwan, which was represented four times in the past by strongman (late) Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was a close aide of party supremo Lalu Yadav.

RJD is said to be keen on fielding Shahabuddin’s widow Hina Shahab, who had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha polls on RJD ticket in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

However, Hina has expressed her displeasure against RJD, accusing the party of not doing enough for her during her hard times after the demise of Shahabuddin in May 2021 during his incarceration in Tihar Jail. Shahabuddin had died of Covid during the pandemic after being admitted at a Delhi hospital on May 1, 2021.

There is buzz she may contest as an Independent. “Hina ji made its clear a month back that she would contest as an Independent from Siwan seat. It is obvious there will be no association with RJD in that case,” said one of her aides.

Siwan constituency has considerable Muslim population, along with Rajputs and other backward classes(OBCs).

Senior RJD leader and former assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary is also in contention for a party ticket from Siwan.

RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan said the party would declare its Siwan candidate in the next few days.

The Janata Dal (United) has fielded Vijay Laxmi Kushwaha, wife of a former MLA Ramesh Singh Kushwaha. The couple joined the JD(U) only last month.

Siwan goes to vote on May 25 in the sixth of the seven phases of parliamentary polls. The nominations for the sixth phase will start from April 29 and last date of nomination is May 6, as per the Election Commission’s schedule.

Meanwhile, among the prominent names in the RJD list are party chief Lalu Prasad’s daughters Misa Bharti and Rohini Archarya, who will contest from Patliputra and Saran, respectively. The party has fielded strongman Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla from Vaishali.

Former Union ministers MAA Fatmi and Jay Praksh Yadav have been fielded from Madhubani and Banka, respectively. Sudhakar Singh, son of RJD state chief Jagdanand Singh, is RJD candidate from Buxar.

Former ministers Kumar Saravjeet Paswan, Alok Kumar Mehta and Lalit Yadav will be in the fray from Gaya, Ujiarpur and Darbhanga, respectively.

Caste-wise, the RJD list has eight Yadavs, three Kushwahas (OBCs), two from EBC, three from SC community, one Dhanuk (OBC), two Muslims and one each from Vaishya, Bhumihar and Rajput communities. Six of them are women.

Polling in Bihar will be held across all seven phases.

As part of seat-sharing deal in Mahagathbandhan, RJD is contesting 23 of the total 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, Congress nine and Left parties five.

Three seats have gone to VIP, which recently joined the bloc.

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