Banka Lok Sabha constituency: No MP ever won this seat for three elections in a row

Banka is one of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar. It comprises of six Vidhan Sabha segments, namely Sultanganj, Amarpur, Dhoraiya, Banka, Katoria and Belhar. In the 2014 election, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav won the seat defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's Putul Kumari with a margin of 10144 votes.

Banka hugely relies on an agrarian economy, with the primary crops being rice, wheat, lentils and corn. However, this does not mean that it is the only source of revenue in the constituency. A huge number of industrial investments, especially coal based power plants, are also being done in the district. On account of being one of the economically backward districts of the state, it is highly dependent on funds from the government under the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGFP).

Of the 40 seats in Bihar, 34 are unreserved seats and 6 are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. Interestingly, Banka Lok Sabha seat has never elected any Member of Parliament for a third term so far. The ones who bagged the seat for two consecutive elections include Congress's Shakuntala Devi in 1957 and 1962, Janata Dal's Pratap Singh in 1989 and 1991 and Digvijay Singh in 1998 on Samata Party ticket and in 1999 on Janata Dal (United) ticket.

The preparations are on in full swing for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The BJP, JDU are contesting the polls on 17 seats each while the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is contesting on six seats. NDA will also nominate LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan to the Rajya Sabha.

On the other hand, the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) led by former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and the Vikasshil Insan Party (VIP) have joined hands for the "Mahagatbandhan" in Bihar.    

Bihar witnessed an overall turnout of 56.28 per cent in the 2014 polls of which 57.66 per cent were female voters and 55.08 per cent were male voters. The seat saw a voter turnout of 58.04 per cent which included 60.50 per cent female and 55.89 per cent male voters.