Katihar: A Rematch Between JD(U) Sitting MP Dulal Chandra Goswami And Senior Congress Leader Tariq Anwar (image-X/Dulal Chandra Goswami)

Once represented by veteran Congress leader Sitaram Kesari in 1967, the Katihar Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar is set to witness Janata Dal (United) MP Dulal Chandra Goswami locks horns with former Union Minister Tariq Anwar of Congress.

In 2014, Anwar secured the seat with 4.3 lakh votes on the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket, making it one of the very few Lok Sabha seats not won by the BJP in the Modi wave. Goswami defeated Anwar, the five-time Lok Sabha MP and two-time Rajya Sabha MP, by a substantial margin of 57,203 votes. Now the two candidates are up for a rematch.

Goswami has a formidable opponent to defeat. Out of the nine times he has contested, Anwar has been elected five times from the Katihar Lok Sabha constituency and is well acquainted with the villages and towns. He won the seat in 1980, 1984, 1996, 1998, and 2014. According to the Times of India, Anwar is expected to win for the sixth time as local people have found him an approachable and helpful leader.

Goswami began his political career as a student. The former RSS member served as an MLA from the Barsoi assembly constituency on the BJP ticket in 1995. He has also served as the Labour Resources Minister in the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led JD(U) state government in 2014. He holds a bachelor”s degree in political science from Katihar’s Sharda College.

The Katihar Lok Sabha constituency comprises six assembly segments, such as Katihar, Kadwa, Balrampur, Pranpur, Manihari (ST), and Barari. The constituency has a significant Muslim population – around 44.47 percent – and 8.57 percent of SC and 5.87 percent of ST populations.