Bihar Meeting Elections: PASWAN FAMILY's fortress Hajipur, Dalit-Moslim voters will be decisive

Patna, October 12 (IANS). The Hajipur meeting constituency holds a particular interest in the politics of Bihar. This seat is located in the Vaishali district, which has been separated from the state’s capital Patna through the River Ganga. Due to its geographical location and historical importance, Vaishali is also called the gateway to North -Bihar. When the name Hajipur heard, the first image that emerged in people’s minds is the land of bananas, Vaishali and the symbol of Dalit politics, the late Ram Vilas Paswan. Not only is Hajipur known for its agriculture and trade, but it was also the center of social and political consciousness of Bihar. The soil here is just as fertile as its political land, which has affected Bihar’s power comparison. From the political point of view, there is an important difference between constituency of the Hajipur meeting and Hajipur Lok Sabha seat. While Hajipur Lok Sabha seat is reserved for scheduled cabinets (SC), the meeting seat is open to general category. This is why the direct influence of the Pashwan family is limited at the mounting level, while Ram Vilas Paswan has recorded record victories from here in the Lok Sabha election. Hajipur Assembly, founded in 1951, has seen many political uphill and downhill over time, but since the beginning of the 21st century this seat has become a fortress of the BJP. Senior party leader and union minister of the state for home Nityanand Rai has strengthened the BJP’s roots here by winning four consecutive terms since 2000. After Rai won the Lok Sabha election in 2014, his close assistant Awadhesh Singh Mla became in the by-election. Singh repeated the victory in the 2015 and 2020 elections, although the victory margin decreased every time. In the 2020 election, he defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Dev Kumar Chaureeshia with a margin of just 3 thousand votes. A difficult competition is expected between BJP and RJD in the upcoming elections in the meeting. While BJP is trying to save his old fortress, the Grand Alliance makes a strategy to make a dip in this area. The social structure of Hajipur also influences its election equations. About 67 percent of the population here are rural, while Hajipur City, the district headquarters of Vaishali, also falls into this area. As for the cupboards, the scheduled cabinets (SC) voters play a decisive role here, their share is more than 21 percent. Apart from this, the number of Muslim voters is about 8 percent, often determining the direction of the alliance. Yadav, Brahmin, Bhumihar and Bania Communities are also present in large numbers, making this seat in each election the center of multi-cupboard competition. The focus of the RJD and the Grand Alliance this time is on the consolidation of SC and Muslim voters, while the BJP tries to take advantage of Chirag Paswan’s influence, along with the cultivation of its traditional upper cabinets and backward voting bank. Chirag, who is currently MP of Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, can play an important role in transferring votes in this area for BJP. Geographically, Hajipur is the most important administrative and commercial center of the Vaishali district. It is linked to Patna by the Mahatma Gandhi bridge and is one of the largest banana markets in the state. This area is a confluence of history and modernity. On the one hand, there is the legacy of Lord Buddha and Mahavir, while on the other there is the story of modern political struggle. According to the 2024 Electoral Commission, the total population of the Hajipur constituency is 5,80,810, which includes 3,06,888 men and 2,73,922 women. At the same time, the total number of voters is 3,52,082. This includes 1,84,575 men, 1,67,487 women and 20 third gender voters. -—IANS DKP/