Bihar elections 2020: 70 candidates in fray from 5 seats in Nawada district

PATNA: Famous for Kakolat waterfall and scenic beauty of Rajauli valley, Nawada district has five assembly constituencies of Rajauli (SC), Hisua, Nawada, Gobindpur and Warisaliganj.
Altogether 70 candidates are trying their luck. The Grand Alliance comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress had won the Rajauli, Nawada and Gobindpur seats while BJP had Hisua and Warisaliganj in its kitty in the 2015 election. This time BJP is contesting from Rajauli, Hisua and Warisaliganj and JD(U) from Nawada and Gobindpur.In the Grand Alliance, RJD is contesting from Rajauli, Nawada and Gobindpur and its ally Congress from Hisua and Warisaliganj.
Rajauli (SC): Famous for stone quarries, Rajauli has the highest number of 22 candidates in the district with RJD’s sitting MLA Prakash Veer pitted against BJP’s former MLA Kanhaiya Rajwar. While upper caste voters seem to be polarized in favour of Rajwar, those from OBCs and Muslims, by and large, may back Veer.
Hisua: The constituency with a dominant population of Bhumihar caste has eight candidates in the fray. But the contest is between BJP’s sitting MLA Anil Singh and Congress’s Nitu Kumari, who is the daughter-in-law of former minister Aditya Singh. Anil has been winning the seat since November 2005 and seeking fourth consecutive term. Before November 2005 polls, Aditya had won the seat six times since 1980.
Nawada: Once infamous for being represented by rape convict Raj Ballabh Yadav, Nawada has 15 candidates in the fray. JD(U)’s MLA Kaushal Yadav is in direct fight against RJD’s Vibha Devi, the wife of Raj Ballabh. BJP’s former district president Shashibhushan Kumar Babloo is contesting on the LJP ticket. Raj Ballabh had to quit the assembly membership after his conviction and Kaushal won the byelection in 2019 defeating Vibha. Earlier, Raj Ballabh had won the seat in 1995 and 2000. After that, Kaushal’s wife Purnima Yadav won the seat for three consecutive times in February 2005, November 2005 and 2010 elections.
Gobindpur: It’s known as the traditional seat of Kaushal-Purnima Yadav’s family. There are 15 candidates in the fray. MLA Purnima s facing RJD’s Md Kamran while BJP rebel and LJP nominee Ranjit Yadav is also in the fray. In 2015, Purnima had won the seat as a Congress candidate. But she joined JD(U) recently. Ranjit’s wife Fula Devi had then contested as the BJP nominee and finished second. Ranjit may dent in the JD(U) vote bank. Purnima’s husband Kaushal Yadav had won the Gobindpur seat in February 2005, November 2005 and 2010 elections. Earlier, Purnima’s mother-in-law Gayatri Devi had won the seat four times in 1980, 1985, 1990 and 2000. Before Gayatri, her husband Yugal Kishor Singh Yadav had won the seat in 1969.
Warisaliganj: There are 10 candidates in the fray. The main contest, people say, is between BJP’s sitting MLA Aruna Devi and former MLA Pradip Kumar’s wife Arti Sinha, who entered politics after quitting her job in the agriculture department. Congress’s Satish Kumar Mantan is also in the fray. Pradip had won the seat in November 2005 as an independent and in 2010 on a JD(U) ticket. But he was disqualified from contesting the polls after his conviction in a criminal case. Aruna had won the seat as an Independent in 2000 and on a BJP ticket in 2015.