RJD candidate Misa Bharti, 48, finally defeated her party rebel and sitting BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav, whom she addresses as ‘chacha’, from Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency in Patna. She had been seeking this seat since 2014 and finally managed to dethrone it with a margin of around 70,000 votes.
Yadav, once a close confidant of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, had joined the BJP after riding the Narendra Modi wave in 2014. He managed to register two consecutive victories in the LS polls from the seat, but he could not turn it into a hat. This time he won by trickery as there was a clear anti-incumbent in the electoral district.
Although Yadav claims to be in constant touch with his party workers and addressing all public grievances, local sources in the constituency told DailyNewsHype that his last term was ridiculous as “voters were really unhappy due to alarming high drug use among the young people in his electorate,” said one source.
Exuding confidence during a DailyNewsHype interview at his ancestral home in Patna, Yadav said: “My opponent has done nothing for the people. I am a sevak and she is a shaashak; She is rich and I am a ‘fakir’. This is the fight. We are confident of securing a substantial majority in this election. Support for the BJP is strong across the state, thanks to the widespread influence of leaders like Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar.”
The aggressive protests of Bharti’s younger brother and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav did wonders this time in decimating the sitting MP. The young crowd voted for the RJD, whose leaders lured people by promising them job opportunities if they came to power.
Residents of Paliganj in Pataliputra constituency said DailyNewsHype that they have never seen ‘Ram Kripal Yadav’ in their constituency. “Our town’s drainage system has been in poor condition for decades. There is no hospital near Noorchak village. The nearest hospital to our village is 20 km away, in Paliganj… One can imagine how difficult it is for us to take a sick person or a pregnant woman to the hospital when the road is bad. Why doesn’t the central government do anything for our village? asked Sudarshan Ram, a 54-year-old laborer in Noorchak village.
Drug lords in Bihar have been marketing narcotic substances, but the authorities concerned have failed miserably to control the drug menace in the state. Drug addicts have created a lot of terror in rural villages.
In a bid to buy packets of drugs, addicts have been stealing jewellery, cash and rations from their homes.
Feminists in the constituency are happy to see RJD candidate Bharti.
“I am happy that now a woman has become an MP in this constituency. At least this MP will understand the kind of pain that women face in this area,” said Sanju Sinha, a resident of the constituency.
Another feminist, Prabha Devi, said, “If the drug menace is not controlled in time, the future of Bihar, which has produced many stalwarts across the countryside, will be badly ruined. There is a growing number of unemployed youth in the state. We are happy to know that people have voted for the party that has promised to guarantee employment for young people.”
Another feminist advocate Annapurna Sharma said, “Women face a lot of difficulties because there is no proper hospital in their village, the roads are in bad condition, pregnant women have to face great inconvenience and there are many problems. But I hope MP Misa Bharti addresses the core issues of women to resolve it.”
Patna Sahib Seat
BJP’s sitting MP Ravi Shankar Prasad has managed to retain his Patna Sahib seat. Congress candidate Dr Anshul Avijit could not attract voters in the area as this seat is considered a BJP stronghold.
Although Avijit had said DailyNewsHype that there is resentment towards Prasad in the constituency, the BJP managed to secure the seat. The constituency is facing extreme economic hardship, with problems of electricity, water, infrastructure, health and education, said Avijit, grandson of freedom fighter Babu Jagjeevan Ram.
Patna Sahib
BJP leader RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD: 5,88,270 votes
Congress leader ANSHUL AVIJIT: 4,34,424 votes
70,000
The approx. margin of votes that Bharti won by