Girdhari Yadav: Ex-RJD Member, JD(U)'s Sitting MP Fielded From Banka (image-X/Giridhari Yadav)The JD(U) has nominated its sitting MP, Girdhari Yadav, from the Banka constituency. Once a stronghold of Congress with husband-wife duo Chandrashekhar Singh (1980, 1985) and Manorama Singh (1984, 1986), the constituency has witnessed a shift towards JD(U) and RJD over the years.
Yadav secured victory in the 2019 elections with 4.7 lakh votes, surpassing RJD’s Jay Prakash Narayan, who won 2.7 lakh votes, and independent candidate Putul Kumari, who came in third with over 1 lakh votes. Yadav has been elected three times to the lower house and four times to the state legislative assembly.
The former Indian Youth Congress member worked as a party worker for Janata Dal. In 1997, Yadav was one of the seventeen Lok Sabha MPs who formed the RJD. When denied a ticket from the party while being a sitting MP, he joined hands with JD(U) in 2010. Four years later, he served as the general secretary of the party before resigning in 2015 for associating with RJD leader Mohd. Shahabuddin. That year, he was elected as the MLA for Belhar.
According to political analysts, the election in Banka is mostly based on caste equations. Voters are expected to vote in favour of the NDA candidate to strengthen the alliance between the state chief minister and PM Modi. Additionally, the strong organisational base of the saffron party, its block and panchayat-level workers, and, of course, the Modi factor could heavily influence the results in favour of Yadav in the constituency.
Notably, voters are unhappy with the NDA for barely visiting the region and not addressing its issues in the past five years. According to locals, the lack of efficient irrigation sources in the constituency has created huge problems for the farming sector, one of their main sources of income.
The Banka Lok Sabha constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas including Sultanganj, Amarpur, Dhoraiya (SC), Banka, Katoria (ST), and Belhar. The SC population consists of 11.91 percent, the ST population is 4.08 percent, and the Muslim population is 13.23 percent.