Lalu Daughters Facing Tough Contest In Saran, Pataliputra: Will Misa, Rohini Defeat BJP Heavyweights?

Two of the 26 seats that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is running for in the Bihar Lok Sabha elections will be among the most intimate electoral contests for party supremo Lalu Prasad. This is because both of his daughters, Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya, are in fray against tough BJP opponents. His two daughters are running against BJP candidates, one of whom previously defeated them. One of the candidates defeated Rohini Acharya's mother and Lalu's confidante, Chandrika Rai. According to locals, Rajiv Pratap Rudy is in a very strong position in Saran. He's contesting from there for the third time. 

Rohini is also putting up a tough fight against the BJP MP, who is running for a fifth term. The Saran Lok Sabha seat, located 75 kilometres from Patna, was known as Chhapra just before delimitation, or before 2008. Rohini, 44, will face Rajiv Pratap Rudy in the fifth round on May 20.

RJD Supremo Lalu Yadav Camping In Saran

Lalu Yadav has won this seat four times. Misa Bharti, Lalu's elder son and 47-year-old daughter, is running for the Rajya Sabha from Pataliputra. He is up against the BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav. According to the Indian Express, Lalu is spending the majority of his time in Saran ahead of the May 20 election. 

Special camps are being organised in the constituency. Rohini is getting praised in the constituency for donating one of her kidneys to her father. It is being said that this act had an emotional impact on the RJD's voter base. Rohini is also counting on her brother, Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, and her father's old charm.

Saran's estimated 18 lakh voters include approximately 3.5 lakh Yadavs and 3.25 lakh Rajputs. There are two lakh Muslims and one lakh Banias and Kushwahas (other backward classes). Rohini is currently represented by Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a four-time BJP MP.

RJD's Campaign High On Emotions

Rudy lost to Lalu in 2009, but he defeated former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi five years later and retained the seat in 2019. Lalu Prasad, who has avoided campaigning in recent years, met with local RJD workers in Chhapra and Patna over the last fortnight to discuss Rohini's campaign. Campaigning with Tejashwi in Amnour on Thursday, Rohini said, "I want to be Saran's daughter and have come here to live and work for the people. We addressed the issue of development."

Tejashwi recalled in his speech how his sister had easily donated one of her kidneys to his father. Throughout his tenure in government, he also adhered to his campaign promise of providing jobs for young people.

Misa Bharti's Situation From Pataliputra Lok Sabha Seat

The Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat is also hotly contested. Misa Bharti, Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, is running for this seat for the third time. Misa ran for office from here in 2014 and 2019, but was defeated by BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav on both occasions. Yadav is again contesting against Misa. However, the addition of Asaduddin Owaisi's party AIMIM to has upended the equations. Farooq Raza, an engineer, has been fielded by Owaisi-led party.

He was previously associated with the RJD. The Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat has over four lakh Yadavs, the majority of the nearly 17 lakh voters. There are three lakh Bhumihar voters, over one lakh Brahmins, 2.5 lakh Kurmis, 1.5 lakh Muslims and the rest Dalits and other voters.

The Pataliputra seat was created from the Patna Lok Sabha constituency in the 2008 delimitation. The eldest child of Lalu and Rabri Devi is counting on her brother Tejashwi's Muslim-Yadav-plus pitch. However, her success will be determined by how the roughly evenly distributed social combination swings before the June 1 vote.