Bihar Elections: RJD Fields Shahabuddin's Son Osama From Raghunathpur - Is Late Bahubali's Influence Still Relevant In Siwan

Bihar Election 2025: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has decided to field Osama Shahab from Raghunathpur assembly seat in Siwan district of Bihar in the upcoming election. Osama is the son of Mohammad Shahabuddin, the late gangster or bahubali of Bihar, who served as an MLA and Member of Parliament from Siwan. A photo of Osama’s meeting with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav went viral on Thursday. Lalu Yadav is seen handing over the poll symbol to Osama in the picture even as the official list of RJD is yet to be released. Once official, Osama will replace the current RJD MLA Hari Shankar Yadav as the RJD candidate from the Raghunathpur seat. A member of Shahabuddin’s family last won an election 21 years ago. However, it seems that the late Bahubali remains relevant in the Siwan region, if not in the state of Bihar. Lalu’s RJD fields Shahabuddin’s son Lalu’s RJD campaign Osama, five years after Shahabuddin’s death, testifies to his influence in the stronghold. Shahabuddin enjoyed cordial ties with Lalu, but bitterness crept in after his death in 2021, as none of the RJD attended his funeral. Lalu Yadav met Shahabuddin’s wife in August when she reportedly requested to introduce her son into politics. Shahabuddin’s name in Siwan Those who follow Bihar politics say that Shahabuddin’s name has always been associated with Siwan. However, his wife Heena Shahab has failed to win elections from the region since the strongman was convicted in various criminal cases in 2008 and disqualified from contesting. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Heena contested as an independent from Siwan after he was denied the RJD ticket. She lost after bagging 2.93 lakh votes. The winner Vijaylakshmi Devi, of the JD-U, got 3.86 lakh votes. Soon after the 2024 polls, Heena and her son Osama rejoined the RJD. Her late husband Shahabuddin was a four-time MP from Siwan. As Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 looms, the RJD is counting on Raghunathpur’s sizeable Yadav and Muslim voters, besides the EBC, Dalit and upper caste population. Raghunathpur, which also falls in Siwan district, is considered a ‘safer’ seat for 30-year-old Osama’s debut. Polling in Raghunathpur will take place on November 6, 2025 in the first phase of the Bihar elections. Today is the last day of filing nominations for first-phase candidates. Osama, who studied law in London, returned to India after the death of Shahabuddin. After three consecutive defeats, Heena decided to hand over the reins to her son. Osama (30) spent three months in prison in 2024 over two land dispute cases. Who was Mohammad Shahabuddin? Mohammad Shahabuddin was a prominent and controversial political figure from Bihar, India, widely known as a ‘bahubali’ (strongman) in the state’s politics. Starting as an independent MLA in the 1990s, Shahabuddin won the Lok Sabha polls four times from the Siwan seat. During his active years, Shahabuddin was known to have cultivated a stronghold in Siwan, combining influence among Muslim and Yadav voters with local muscle. Shahabuddin had a long list of criminal cases against him, including murder, kidnapping and extortion, which brought him notoriety and led to his first conviction in 2008. Shahabuddin’s rise from the 1990s Shahabuddin won the first assembly election in 1990 from the Ziradei seat in Siwan. Lalu Prasad, who became CM for the first time in 1990, fielded Shahabuddin from Ziradei on his party Janata Dal ticket in the 1995 assembly polls. Shahabuddin won. “Lalu started working on a Muslim-Yadav combination by the mid-1990s, and Shahabuddin fit the bill. He not only won then, but represented the Siwan Lok Sabha seat four times, until the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Despite his image as a feared strongman, he was able to create a constituency in line with the Indian social leader,” RJD said. Shahabuddin was convicted in 2008 in an attempted murder case. He was unable to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He was subsequently convicted in other cases of murder and kidnapping and spent the rest of his life behind bars. Heena, the RJD candidate. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Siwan, independent Om Prakash Yadav won, defeating Heena. In 2014, Om Prakash again won the seat as a BJP candidate and again defeated Heena. Heena contested again in 2019 as an RJD candidate and lost. In 2021, while still in prison, Shahabuddin died after contracting COVID-19. In 2024, as Tejashwi Yadav tried to shed his ‘jungle raj’ image, Heena was denied the ticket. She contested as an independent candidate but lost to JD(U)’s Vijaylakshmi Devi. Is Shahabuddin still relevant? So, is Shahabuddin still relevant today? Yes, says political analyst Amitabh Tiwari. “In the Saran belt. Saran is one of the few belts where the Mahagatbandhan did well in the 2020 polls. “This support shifted to the NDA in 2024, Lok Sabha due to lack of support from Shahabuddin family,” he told LiveMint. The term “Saran belt” refers to the Saran administrative division in Bihar, and Saran district, which consists of three Siwan district, and Saran. Gopalganj. This region is known for its rich history, cultural heritage and significant political influence in the state. “In addition, Muslim representation is low in Bihar in the RJD. The community questions it. Old Muslim leadership in Bihar is also giving way to new leaders like Osama,” Tiwari said. Shahabuddin fought against the left parties during his rule. Now the left parties are the strongest allies of the RJD in Bihar. In 2020, the CPI (ML) L won two of the Siwan seats (Ziradei and the Mahagband) as part of the Mahagbandhan. When the CPI (ML) L was asked about RJD employing Osama, he said he had no dispute with Shahabuddin’s family. The Mahagathbandhan won five of the seven Assembly segments falling under the Siwan Lok Sabha seat in the 2020 Assembly polls.