Jehanabad's Rematch Between JD(U)’s Chandreshwar Prasad And RJD’s Surendra Prasad Yadav (image-Facebook/Chandreshwar Prasad Chandravanshi)
Once known as a Naxal-affected area, Bihar’s Jehanabad Lok Sabha constituency will witness a rematch between incumbent MP Chandreshwar Prasad Chandravanshi from Janata Dal (United) and MLA Surendra Prasad Yadav from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Former MP Arun Kumar from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also in the race for the seat.
A recent video surfaced where local residents of Jehanabad confronted their sitting MP Prasad for his continued absence from the area in the past five years and demanded accountability from him. Prasad won the seat in the 2019 elections with 3.3 lakh votes against RJD candidate Yadav, who won 3.3 lakh votes. Prasad won the seat with a tiny margin of less than 1800 votes.
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The growing resentment and disappointment with the NDA candidate could be highly disadvantageous for the party. With the party leaders in full form to appease the voters, especially the Bhumihar community, who are angry for not getting a representative of their caste nominated despite voting for the JD(U) in the previous Lok Sabha election.
Additionally, Jehanabad records one of the highest numbers of Yadav and Bhumihar voters. With caste equations playing an influential role, political parties have been mindful of nominating candidates from these castes, which has worked as candidates from Yadav and Bhumihar have won several times from the Jehanabad Lok Sabha seat.
At the same time, the primary opposition RJD also struggles with obstacles, such as party leader Munni Lal Yadav, who has entered the race as an independent candidate after failing to get a ticket from the party.
Much like the many constituencies in the state, the people of Jehanabad are also plagued by issues such as irrigation, migration, and unemployment in the region.
