Patna: Samastipur, a district in Bihar that turned infamously identified for the assassination of former railways minister L.N. Mishra in 1975 and the arrest of BJP chief L.Ok. Advani throughout his well-known Ram Rath Yatra in 1990, is within the information once more.
Shambhavi Choudhary, the daughter of Ashok Kumar Choudhary, a minister and confidant of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will probably be contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Samastipur because the Lok Janshakti Celebration (Ram Vilas) or NDA candidate.
In the meantime, Sunny Hazari, the son of one other Janata Dal (United) minister and erstwhile Nitish confidant Maheshwar Hazari, has joined the Congress — hoping to bag a nomination from the identical seat. The Congress has but to announce its candidate from the seat. The elections listed here are scheduled within the fourth part on 13 Might.
If he’s nominated, the Samastipur reserved seat will see a contest between the youngsters of two JD(U) ministers, on rival tickets.
“I do not know if I will be given a ticket, but I will work to strengthen the party in the Lok Sabha seat,” Sunny Hazari advised ThePrint.
In the meantime, expressing her confidence over her victory Shambhavi mentioned: “Just watch how much the margin will be.”
Maheshwar Hazari, nevertheless, distanced himself from his son’s determination, reaffirming his allegiance to the CM. “Sunny’s decision to join the Congress is his own. I have nothing to do with it. My loyalty is entirely towards Nitish Kumar,” he advised ThePrint.
Like him, the JD(U) has additionally remained silent on the event. “We are not aware of any development. Even if Maheshwarji’s son has joined the Congress, he is not a member of JD(U),” JD (U) Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary advised ThePrint.
In keeping with the seat-sharing association of the Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA), of the whole 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, 17 seats are with the BJP, 16 with the JD(U) and 5 with Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV). LJP (RV) will probably be combating the reserved seat of Samastipur.
In the meantime, in keeping with the seat-sharing formulation of the Mahagathbandhan, the Congress will contest 9 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, together with Samastipur, whereas RJD, CPI(ML) will contest 26 and three seats, respectively. CPI and CPI(M) will battle one seat every.
Maheshwar Hazari, a former deputy speaker and ex-MP from Samastipur, had aspirations for the 2024 elections. Nevertheless, his function within the 2021 LJP break up made Chirag Paswan hesitant to endorse him, it’s learnt.
A senior Bihar Congress chief advised ThePrint: “When Maheshwar Hazari initially approached us, we suggested that he should quit the Nitish ministry and the Congress would give him a ticket. It would have caused a nationwide media splash of a JD(U) minister quitting and joining Congress. But Maheshwar Hazari was reluctant to take the risk.”
The chief added, “Now that his son has joined, there is no assurance of a ticket. There are other aspirants, and the Congress leadership will take the call.”
The Hazari clan is influential in Samastipur and belongs to the Paswan part of Dalits.
In the meantime, Shambhavi’s candidacy is learnt to have prompted a stir in political circles because of the LJP’s custom of reserving seats for the Paswan household and their neighborhood. Ever because the days of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, the thumb rule of the occasion was that reserved seats contested by the occasion go to the household particularly and the Paswan part of Dalits basically.
In keeping with LJP (RV) sources, this time too, Chirag Paswan was initially giving the seat to Sanjay Paswan, a long-time affiliate.
“But suddenly, the BJP top leadership impressed on Chirag that he has to move out of this mode and give tickets to other Dalit sections to emerge as a Dalit leader instead of being the leader of Paswan, leading to Shambhavi’s nomination,” an LJP (RV) chief advised ThePrint.
An alumna of Girl Shri Ram Faculty and the Delhi College of Economics, Shambhavi, 25, belongs to the Pasi part of Dalits and will turn into one of many youngest MPs, if elected.
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Enemies turned allies
Notably, Shambhavi’s father Ashok Choudhary and Chirag Paswan had been rivals even when Nitish Kumar was with the NDA earlier than.
Chirag, then MP from the Jamui reserved seat, needed to face hurdles created by Choudhary not solely in getting his jobs cleared from the federal government but additionally extreme public criticism when he launched a tirade towards Nitish Kumar, mentioned sources near Chirag.
Ashok Choudhary had contested from Jamui Lok Sabha seat unsuccessfully in 2009 and it was speculated that he needed to contest from the identical seat as a NDA candidate in 2019.
Nevertheless, at the moment, the equation has modified as Shambhavi married Chirag Paswan’s shut buddy, Sayan Kunal, in 2022 in a much-publicised intercaste marriage.
Sayan is the son of Kishore Kunal, a former IPS officer and now head of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Belief, an influential public determine in Bihar.
Chatting with ThePrint, Sayan recounted that he and Shambhavi first crossed paths at a Youth Parliament occasion he organised in 2017, the place she served as a decide. Following a five-year relationship, the couple tied the knot.
Amid reviews of Sayan’s function in Shambhavi’s nomination from the seat following his assembly with Chirag Paswan, Ashok Choudhary advised ThePrint that he had nothing to do along with his daughter getting the ticket.
“Politics runs in our blood, but I did not expect her to take a break so early. I had nothing to do with her getting a ticket. That was done by my son-in-law, Sayan Kunal,” he mentioned.
He went on so as to add that Shambhavi was specializing in the Union Public Service Fee examination, however couldn’t put together for it correctly because of the pandemic. “She is doing her PhD from Magadh University on women empowerment,” Choudhary mentioned, including that she had even co-authored a e book with him on Nitish Kumar’s contributions to Bihar.
‘Impressed by Chirag bhaiya’
Shambhavi, who has been energetic in public service by a charity belief named after her late grandfather Mahavir Choudhary and as an honorary director of a personal college, admits her political alignment with Chirag Paswan solidified after her candidacy announcement.
Chatting with ThePrint, she denied that she was utterly new to public contact. “After completing my post-graduation from Delhi School of Economics in 2022, I registered for a doctorate from Magadh University. I run a charity trust in the name of my grandfather late Mahavir Choudhary (eight times MLA in the Bihar assembly). I am also an honorary director in a private school.”
She admires Chirag Paswan’s management and his dedication to youth and growth. “I have been impressed with Chirag bhaiya — the manner in which he took the political crisis in his party head-on, his commitment to the youth, and his vision for development. My husband frequently met him in Delhi,” she mentioned.
Nevertheless, regardless of her confidence in profitable the election, BJP insiders counsel that her optimism may be untimely. Although she enjoys an edge because of the freshness of candidature, she could need to face hostility throughout the NDA, they added.
In 2019, LJP’s Prince Raj, cousin of Chirag Paswan, received on the occasion ticket. This time Prince Raj has been denied a ticket as a result of he sided along with his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras when the LJP break up in 2021.
The Hazari clan has a considerable following within the area. “It will all boil down to if the Paswans in Samastipur accept Chirag’s decision to field a non-Paswan candidate for the first time,” mentioned a BJP chief from the realm.
Shambhavi’s husband Sayan, a legislation graduate, is assured that she is going to actively work for the betterment of youth and ladies, including that Samastipur holds a particular place in his coronary heart as his mom’s hometown.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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