The Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency, which has witnessed several high-profile contests, is going to polls in Phase 3. Opposition INDIA bloc candidate Kumar Chandradeep is from RJD. He is pitted against sitting MP Dinesh Chandra Yadav, the NDA nominee. The Madhepura constituency has 20,71,166 voters.
On several occasions, the constituency has seen electoral battles between RJD president Lalu Prasad and veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav, both shining in politics by championing the cause of OBCs in the heydays of Mandal politics. Another veteran socialist leader Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal, famous for the Mandal Commission report, was born at Murho village in Madhepura. He was a chief minister of Bihar for a brief period.
SEE-SAW BATTLE
Several political heavyweights like Lalu, Sharad Yadav and also muscleman-turned politician Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav, have tried their luck from the Madhepura seat. The electoral battle between Lalu and Sharad was always closely watched. Their fight here started in 1998 when Lalu defeated Sharad who contested the election on Janata Dal ticket.
In 1999, it was the turn of Sharad to turn the table as he shocked Lalu by defeating him in a close contest. Sharad contested the election on JDU ticket. The sea-saw battle between Lalu and Sharad continued as the RJD chief defeated the latter in 2004. He also won from Saran as he vacated Madhepura seat later.
In the by-election to Madhepura, after Lalu quit the seat, Pappu Yadav won the seat on an RJD ticket. In 2009, Lalu did not contest election from Madhepura. In 2014, Pappu contesting as an RJD candidate defeated JDUs Sharad. In 2019, JDU candidate Dinesh Chandra Yadav defeated Sharad, who was contesting election on an RJD ticket this time. In 2019, JDU candidates vote share was 54.42 per cent while Sharad got 28.14 per cent votes. Pappu was a distant third with 97,631 votes.
THE USP
Madhepura, known as the cradle of social ideology, will witness an election for the first time after the release of the caste based socio-economic report in the state last year. It will be interesting to see how the caste survey report consolidates Yadav and non-Yadav OBC votes when BJP has apparently accelerated efforts to polarise voters by whipping up emotive issues. “Everybody will watch how voters in Madhepura with a high population of Yadavs voters exercise their franchise and also whether BJP succeeds in demolishing caste barriers and also in persuading Hindus to vote in its favour en bloc,” remarked a local JD (U) leader.
DECODING THE FIGHT
In the Madhepura constituency, Yadavs population is estimated to be nearly 3.5 lakh, while it has around 1.5 lakh Muslim voters. With Pappu not contesting the election from here, there is also a dismal chance of Yadav votes getting split. With Mukesh Sahnis Vikassheel Insaan Party joining INDIA, the RJD candidate may get votes of Mallahs too. On the other hand, NDA candidate Dinesh pins hopes on the support of around three lakh votes of upper castes, extremely backward castes and non Yadav backward castes. Both parties are targeting the central and state governments and raising issues like perennial deluges and huge migration from the region.
CANDIDATES’ PROFILE
Dinesh Chandra Yadav
Before winning the Lok Sabha election from Madhepura in 2019, Yadav won from the Khagaria constituency on a JDU ticket in 2009. He also represented Saharsa in the Lok Sabha in 1996 and 1999. He holds is a diploma in civil engineering. He is a former Bihar minister and four-time legislator.
Kumar Chandradeep
Kumar Chandradeep is an English professor and is making a debut by contesting the poll against NDA nominee Yadav. He, too, is a Yadav and son of Ravi, who was the vice-chancellor of BN Mandal University. The RJD candidate hopes to win due to his clean image and his family background.
