The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which was not happy over the seat sharing set up finally declared the first list of 12 candidates. The list includes the names of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother and nephew. Paswan’s brother Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is also the state chief of the party in Bihar, will contest from Alouli assembly seat. Prince Raj, son of Paswan’s brother and Lok Sabha MP Ram Chandra Paswan, will make a debut from Kalyanpur constituency. Chirag Paswan, LJP Parliamentary Board Chairman said there was a consensus with BJP and other NDA allies on 29 of 40 seats on which LJP will be contesting and the other 11 seats will be finalised soon about which talks are still on. The candidates list announced yesterday were spread over different phases of elections.
NDA allies disagreement continues over seat allocation
The tussle within NDA over seat allocation for the upcoming Bihar elections still continues. LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi were in disagreement over two seats in the constituency of Paswan’s son. As per sources, LJP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) want to contest from all the assembly constituencies that fall in the parliamentary constituencies held by them. On the other hand, BJP is not agreeing with the demand and wishes to contest at least from one seat in each parliamentary constituency. Sources reveal that LJP has said that if tickets will be given to sitting legislators who belong to HAM in Jamui and Chakai constituencies, it will field its candidates against them. In response to Paswan, Manjhi has said that it will field its candidates in all 40 seats that have been allotted to LJP.
Politician in focus: Upendra Kushwaha (Born 6 February 1960)
Born in Jawaz Village in Bihar, Upendra Kushwaha belongs to a middle class family. After completing his graduation from Patna Science College he went ahead to pursue his post-graduation in Political Science from B.R. Ambedkar University in Bihar. A lecturer of Political Science by profession, Kushwaha got involved in politics in 1985.
He served as the general secretary of Yuva Lok Dal from 1985-88 and was its National General Secretary from 1988-93. He then became the General Secretary of Samata party in 1994 and held the position till 2002.
In 2000, he got elected to the assembly of Bihar state. He became the Deputy Leader of Samata Party in the assembly and then became the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly in 2004. After having an off and on relationship with political parties like Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Janata Dal United (JD(U)), he founded his own political party in 2013 – RLSP. He won from Karakat constituency in 2014 general elections.
Kushwaha was made the Minister of State (MOS) for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation ministry in May 2014 by the Modi government but after the Cabinet reshuffling in November 2014, he now holds the post of MoS of Human Resource Development.
Constituency in focus: Kishanganj
Kishanganj is a parliamentary as well as an assembly constituency of Bihar. Kishanganj district spans over an area of 1,884 sq km. The constituency comprises 2,42,175 eligible voters out of which 1,22,690 are men and 1,19,476 women.
It is also the only tea producing district in Bihar. Rivers Mechi, Kankai and Mahananda pass through Kishanganj. It is considered as one of the sensitive districts as it shares its border with Nepal and Bangladesh.
2010 Assembly Election Results
• Winning candidate: Dr. Mohammad Jawaid, INC
• Total votes received: 38867
• Margin of victory: 264 votes
• Runners-up: Sweety Singh, BJP
• Total number of male candidates: 12; Female candidates: 1
• Total number of voters: 1,23,833 ; Male voters: 64,727 ; Female voters: 59,106
• Polling percentage: 58.47
• Polling stations: 221
Related Information:
Bihar Elections 2015
Bihar Election Updates
Bihar Election Dates
Candidate List for Bihar Assembly Elections 2015
List of Assembly Constituencies of Bihar
Bihar Election Results
Political Parties of Bihar
Who will be the next Chief Minister of Bihar?
List of Chief Ministers (CM) of Bihar
Government and Politics of Bihar
List of Governors of Bihar
Bihar Map
