LJP’s Kaiser faces Sahni to retain Khagaria seat

KHAGARIA: With just three days left for polling in the Khagaria Lok Sabha seat, the candidates in the fray are holding public meeting and house-to-house campaign to woo the electorate.
Top leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP), chief minister Nitish Kumar, Sushil Kumar Modi (BJP), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM-S), Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD) and Upendra Kushwaha (RLSP) have already campaigned in the area.
Sitting MP Choudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser of LJP is facing Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni. Kaiser had defeated RJD nominee Krishna Kumari Yadav, wife of former MLA Ranvir Yadav, by a margin of 76,023 votes in the 2014 general election. Sahni, a former Bollywood set designer from Afjala village in Darbhanga district, is contesting Lok Sabha election for the first time.
JD(U), the NDA partner in Bihar, has its MLA in Khagaria, Beldaur, Parbatta, Simri Bakhtiyarpur and Hasanpur assembly segments while Alouli (SC) is represented by RJD, which leads the Grand Alliance of Congress, VIP, HAM(S) and RLSP in the state.
The predominantly backward classes dominated constituency has never been a bastion of any political party. Political observers feel that Sahni is banking on RJD chief Lalu Prasad ‘magic’ and M-Y factor besides support of Congress, HAM(S) and RLSP.
Krishna Kumar Singh of Machhra in Alouli said Lalu factor would play a vital role as he is supposed to be the ‘messiah’ of the downtrodden.
Kaiser, who had represented Simri Bakhtiyarpur assembly segment earlier, is banking on NaMo charishma to retain the seat.
A section of youths of Bachhauta village in Khagaria are not happy with Kaiser, but will vote for PM Modi. Sanjay Kumar said, “Kaiser majboori hai, NaMo jaruri hai. So, we will vote for NaMo,” he asserted.
Political observers feel it is also a litmus test for LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan, who hails from Shaharbanni village under Alouli (SC) assembly segment of Khagaria parliamentary constituency. Paswan was first elected to the state assembly in the 1969 byelection from Alouli (reserved) seat. Pashupati Kumar Paras, his younger brother, was also elected to the state assembly from Alouli in 1977.