Three-term MLA Ajay Kumar Mandal Retains His Bhagalpur Seat; Defeats Ajeet Sharma

Three-term MLA and Janata Dal (United) candidate Ajay Kumar Mandal retained the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat with 5.3 lakh votes, defeating Congress candidate Ajeet Sharma with a margin of over 1 lakh votes, Sharma secured 4.3 lakh votes.

Mandal is a three-term MLA – twice from Nathnagar and once from Kahalgaon. Riding on the Modi wave in 2019, he secured victory in the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency with 6.1 lakh votes, surpassing RJD’s Bulo Mandal by a substantial margin of over 2.75 lakh votes.

Congress candidate Ajeet Sharma is the father of Bollywood actor Neha Sharma with whom he was seen holding a roadshow in Bhagalpur district during the election campaign. He is also a three-time MLA. Belonging to the upper-caste Bhumihar community, Sharma is currently an MLA in Bhagalpur.

This was the first time Congress contested the parliamentary election following a seven-year gap in the silk city of India. The Lok Sabha constituency has over 23.3 lakh voters, making it one of the biggest constituencies in Bihar. The Dalit population totals over 12 percent in the region, while the Muslim population comprises 17.68 percent.

While several Bhagalpur voters claimed that Mandal was ‘missing’ for the past five years from the constituency and has not done much for its development. Despite that, the locals were keen to increase the chances of PM Modi winning another term and hence, vote for Mandal.

Prior to the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, which killed over a thousand people, Congress maintained a stronghold over the seat. However, since then, other parties such as the BJP, CPI(M), RJD, and JD(U) have represented the seat over the years.