Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar: BJP to try to reclaim seat from RJD

Bhagalpur is one of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar. It comprises six Vidhan Sabha segments, namely Bihpur, Gopalpur, Pirpainti, Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur and Nathnagar.

In the 2014 election, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Shailesh Kumar Urph Bulo Mandal won the seat defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's Syed Shahnawaz Hussain by 9485 votes. The BJP had won from the seat in the 2004 election, 2006 byelections as well as the 2009 Lok Sabha poll. While BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi won in 2004, Shahnawaz Hussain won the seat for the BJP in 2006 bypoll and 2014 election.

Bhagalpur parliamentary constituency is one of the most renowned urban centres of Bihar. The district is well-acclaimed for the silk sarees and other silk items it produces. It is on account of this that Bhagalpur is also called the Silk City of India. Although the area heavily relies on agriculture and small businesses, the silk and handloom industry provides the backbone of the economy.  

Elections to the seat were first held in 1957 when Congress candidate  Banarshi Prasad Jhunjhunwala won. Congress maintained its hold in the elections in 1962, 1967 and 1971 when Bhagwat Jha Azad won the seat for three consecutive terms. In 1977, Janata Party's Ramjee Singh won the seat for the first time for the party. However, Azad won the seat for the Congress again in 1980 and 1984 election. In 1989, 1991 and 1996, Janata Dal's Chunchun Prasad Yadav won the seat. For the first time in 1998, the seat went into Bharatiya Janata Party's kitty when Prabhas Chandra Tiwari won from the seat. In 1999, however, Communist Party of India's (Marxist) Subodh Ray won the seat. In 2004 polls, BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi won followed by Syed Shahnawaz Hussain winning the seat again for the BJP in 2006 bypoll and 2009 general election.

In 2014 election, Bihar witnessed an overall turnout of 56.28 per cent of which 57.66 per cent were female voters and 55.08 per cent were male voters. The Bhagalpur seat saw an overall voter turnout of 57.79 per cent which included 57.12 per cent female and 58.39 per cent male voters.