Santosh Kushwaha: Former BJP Member, Sitting MP And JD(U) Candidate From Purnia (image-Facebook/Santosh Kumar Kushwaha)East Bihar’s Purnia Lok Sabha constituency will witness a three-cornered battle between Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Bima Bharti, incumbent MP Santosh Kushwaha from Janata Dal (United), and the independent candidate Pappu Yadav.
With Yadav’s return, who the locals say has a significant chance of winning the seat, the former RJD leader has made Purnia constituency’s electoral clash interesting. During a public rally in Purnia, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav urged the crowd to vote for his party candidate. But in a twist, he also sought votes for the BJP-led NDA’s Kushwaha. Based on speculation, the RJD leader’s efforts were aimed at making things difficult for the independent candidate.
Kushwaha was elected as the MLA from the Baisi assembly segment in Purnia district as a BJP candidate. Just a month prior to the 2014 national elections, he joined JD(U).
The Purnia Lok Sabha constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas such as Kasba, Banmankhi (SC), Rupauli, Dhamdaha, Purnia, and Korha (SC). With a significant Muslim population (39.47 percent), the Lok Sabha constituency has had fluctuating voter preferences. Initially won by Congress consecutively from 1952 to 1971, the constituency has witnessed frequent shifts from independent candidates to the Samajwadi Party.
After the BJP won the seat from 2004 to 2009 via candidate Uday Singh, the seat went to JD(U) candidate Santosh Kushwaha in 2014, bagging 4.1 lakh votes while Singh secured over 3 lakh votes. Kushwaha went on to win once again with a whopping 6.3 lakh votes, leaving BJP’s Singh again coming in second with 3.6 lakh votes.
Having held key positions within the party, Kushwaha has also found himself in controversy. In 2016, he was accused of being involved in aiding the escape of Awadhesh Mandal, husband of JD(U) MLA Bima Bharti, from police custody in Purnia. Mandal is wanted in over a hundred criminal cases, including murder. Allegedly, while Kushwaha spoke to the police officials, Bharti helped her husband escape in an SUV while a mob of hundreds of supporters surrounded the police station.
The SC population is 11.42 percent, while the ST community makes up 4.55 percent of the population, as per the 2011 census.