Patna: With support of former MPs Prabhu Nath
Singh and jailed party leader Md Shahabuddin to RJD nominee
Prameshwar Singh and another local heavyweight Ajay Singh
fielding his wife Kavita Kumari on a ruling JD(U) ticket, the
bypoll to Daraunda assembly poll promises to be a
keenly-contested affair.
The October 13 bypoll has been necessitated following the
death of JD(U) MLA Jagmato Devi.
Prameshwar Singh, is a close relative of Prabhunath Singh
and also enjoys the support of Shahabuddin. While Ajay Singh,
son of Jagmato Devi facing serious criminal offences, decided
at the last moment to marry Kavita Kumari to secure the ruling
party ticket on compassionate ground.
Ajay Singh`s marriage with Kavita Kumari was solemnised
on September 17.
Jagmato Devi had emerged victorious as an Independent
from Raghunathpur in mid-term poll in November 2005 and then
successfully contested the elections on the ruling party
ticket in 2010 from Daraundi dominated by upper caste
(Rajputs).
With the constituency with electorate of 2.32 lakh,
Jagmato Devi had defeated her nearest RJD rival Vinod Kumar
Singh by a margin of 31,000 votes in 2010. She got 49,115
votes.
Besides Shahabuddin, Prabhunath Singh and Ajay Singh, the
RJD Lok Sabha member from Maharajganj Umashankar Singh and
Siwan`s Independent MP Omprakash Yadav, too enjoy good
influence in the constituency.
Yadav and Umashankar Singh are yet to make public their
stand on support. Umashankar Singh is not on good terms with
RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Lalu Prasad, taking the seat as a prestige issue, has
decided to camp in the constituency on October 9 and October
10, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would mobilise support
for his party nominee on October 11, the day he would also
flag off Rath Yatra of senior BJP leader L K Adavni against
corruption.
Daraunda constituency was carved out from Raghunathpur
assembly segment, once considered a strong hold of Congress
where its senior leader Vijay Shankar Dubey won four times in
1980, 1985, 2000 and 1990. Before Vikram Kuer, now BJP MLA
from Raghunathpur, won the seat on RJD ticket in 1995.
Congress has fielded its nominee Kalika Sharan Singh,
while CPI-ML (Liberation) which has strong following in Siwan
has put up Jainath Yadav as its candidate.
Other candidates are: Jaiprakash Yadav, Shankuntala
Devi, Kameshwar Prasad and Nilesh Tiwari as Independents.
PTI
