Bihar: BJP keen on hat trick with Ujiarpur Lok Sabha hot seat

Patna, March 18 (IANS) The 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar are crucial to deciding the fate of NDA and INDIA bloc in the 2024 polls, and so, both sides are meticulously preparing for each seat in the state.

Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency in Samastipur district is considered a hot seat where BJP is eyeing making a hat trick of wins. Ujiarpur seat came into existence after delimitation in 2008, and NDA has been dominating here since last three Lok Sabha elections.

Ashwamedh Devi of JD-U was elected for Lok Sabha in 2009, and had defeated Alok Kumar Mehta of RJD. After the political equation changed in 2014, BJP gave the ticket to Nityanand Rai and he also defeated Mehta. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Nityanand Rai defeated Upendra Kushwaha, the national President of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) with a margin of 2.77 lakh votes.

At present, the contest for Ujiarpur seat is between NDA and INDIA bloc. After Upendra Kushwaha joined NDA, BJP is expected to take this seat. From Mahagathbandhan, RJD is looking out for this seat. Nityanand Rai would be an expected candidate from NDA, and had won it in 2014 and 2019. He is currently Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. Alok Kumar Mehta may contest this seat from RJD.

Ujiarpur Lok Sabha seat comprising six Assembly constituencies including Patepur Assembly constituency (Reserved) of Vaishali district, Ujiarpur, Sarairanjan, Morwa, Mohiuddinnagar and Bibhutipur of Samastipur district.

The total voters of Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency are 16,12,300, comprising 8,60,948 male and 7,51,352 female voters. As far as caste equation is concerned, Yadav and Kushwaha are dominating this seat. Besides, Muslim, EBC and Brahmin voters also have a sizable population here.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha election, BJP candidate Nityanad Rai had obtained 5,43,906 votes, while Upendra Kushwaha got only 2,66,628 votes. The polling percentage of this seat was around 60 per cent.

The voting for Lok Sabha election will take place on three counts: caste factor, local issues and guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Filing the nominations for this seat will start from April 18 and polling will be held on May 13.

Rajesh Kumar of Sarairanjan block said: “People by and large vote according to the caste equation but local issues cannot be ignored. People of Samastipur and Ujiarpur have been demanding railway over bridge, roads and other basic facilities for years, but neither state government nor Centre addressed these issues.”

“We are expecting a one-to-one fight between NDA and INDIA in this election. The scope of 'vote katwa' parties like AIMIM and BSP have hardly any scope here this time. People of our constituency are aware of it. They will give votes on local issues. I personally believe the supporters of BJP would give votes on national issues, while the voters of Mahagathbandhan will give votes on local issues like jobs, infrastructure development etc,” said Radhika Prasad, a trader of Ujiarpur block.

“Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency has no major industry. Many jute and sugar mills were closed for years. One jute mill and one sugar mill are currently in operation here. This Lok Sabha constituency is a flood-affected area in monsoon. Migrations of youth take place from here. These issues will also come into effect during the election,” Anwar Khalid, a resident of Bibhutipur said.