LS polls: Battle lines drawn between BJP and Mahagathbandhan in Karakat

The Rastriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) was a key ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) when the Karakat and Ujiyarpur constituencies went to vote in the last parliamentary elections. 

But this time, the scenario is quite different.

RLSP’s chief Upendra Kushwaha, who is contesting these two seats, is now a nominee of the Grand Alliance led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Besides Kushwaha, the other key candidate in the Karakat constituency is Mahabali Singh of Janata Dal United or JD(U), the NDA candidate.

Karakat will go to polls in the seventh and final phase on May 19. 

Singh is said to be a close aide of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. Singh won the Karakat seat in 2009 while Kushwaha got this seat in 2014, defeating Kanti Singh of the RJD. Interestingly, both the candidates are from the Koeri (OBC) caste.

After Kushwaha became a member of Parliament, he hogged the limelight in national politics. Kushwaha's party, the RLSP, managed to win three seats apart from Karakat in the last Lok Sabha election. Kushwaha became the minister of state for human resource development.

Currently, the Karakat Lok Sabha constituency comprises six Vidhan Sabha seats. These are Bikramganj, Dehri, Karakat, Goh, Obra and Nabinagar.

Majority of the people in Karakat are the Yadavs, Koeris and Rajputs who have about two lakh votes each. Scheduled caste, Brahmin, Bhumihar and Muslim votes would have to also be factored in before any of the candidates can claim victory. 

Singh is expecting to get the mandate of the upper caste and Mahadalits whereas Kushwaha is hoping to get Yadava, Kushwaha (Koiris) and Muslim votes.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Kushwaha left the NDA when his demand for three seats was rejected. He joined hands with the Grand Alliance and got five seats during the negotiation process. 

People of this parliamentary constituency say the expectations they had with Singh and Kushwaha were not met.

Rice mills of this area are in huge debt and have been forced to shut down. In fact, only 10 per cent of the rice mills are operating but are on the brink of closure. 
 

These mills are not getting any relief from the government. These rice millers have no hope in this election. At the same time, farmers say due to online registration, their crops do not reach to government agencies for procurement.
 

Madan Bhuiyan of Nuaon Tola at Karakat parliamentary constituency says, “The leaders never pay attention to the water problem here. The farmers have to pay the irrigation tax every year even after not getting water.”
 

Dinesh Pasi of Siarua village says Kushwaha became Union minister but he didn’t pay any attention to the road to Sanzhouli-Siarua. 
 

Another villager Antu Paswan feels Kushwaha could pip Singh in the poll, even though he was not happy with the RLSP chief. Antu says, “A road of this area was being constructed under the Prime Minister’s Road Scheme. But owing to the low quality material, the people stopped the project.”
 

But Mahabali Singh is upbeat about his prospects. “In Karakat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ scheme is an important issue. Modiji enhanced the honour of the country. As far as my work is concerned, I raised the fundamental problems of this area in Parliament after winning this seat in 2009. In my tenure, 3-4 mega bridges were built and 208 roads inaugurated.”
 

Deepak Gupta, also a resident of the area, is of the opinion that the key issue is the safety and security of the country and this is where Modi scores over others. 
 

But Ashutosh Ojha from Natwar area says, “Singh and Kushwaha never visited our area. What is the advantage of such MPs who live in Delhi and Patna? We will vote for a candidate who is available during our need,” says Ojha.
 

Although Ojha hit out at Singh, he said he will press the Lotus symbol this time because he benefitted from the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat scheme.
 

Samajwadi Party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Karakat Ghanshyam Tiwary had written an open letter to PM Modi where he said he will be submitting the curriculum vitae of a large number of unemployed youth of his constituency. This gesture had got him a lot of attention.
 

But despite this, it seems only Kushwaha and Singh are in the fray.
 

Meanwhile, Kushwaha is also trying his luck from Ujiarpur where he was pitted against BJP’s state president Nityanand Rai. Here, polling was held in the fourth phase on April 29. Interestingly, both these candidates had campaigned for each other in the 2014 parliamentary elections.