Bihar election 2020: Fiery contest in Dumraon as JD(U) ditches incumbent heavyweight MLA
In 2020, the fight for Dumraon is between JD(U)’s Anjum Ara, Dadan Yadav and Mahagathbandhan’s Ajit Singh.
Dumraon is one of the four assembly constituencies in Bihar’s Buxar district. Its political history has pretty much been a game between two parties and two seasoned politicians. The Congress had maintained a tight grip here initially whereas the recent years saw a strong claim by chief minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United).
Congress could never pivot the electoral fight in its favour after 1985. Three-time MLA Basant Singh was Congress’ last bet for Dumraon. Not only did he win the assembly polls for the party in 1985 but continued to defeat all adversaries for two more consecutive terms on a Janata Dal ticket.
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Basant Singh’s rule of nearly fifteen years was challenged by independent candidate Dadan Singh Yadav in 2000, who is also the incumbent MLA. Yadav is known to have tested the waters of Dumraon’s political arena well. From being an independent MLA, he switched over to parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Akhil Jan Vikas Dal, the Janata Dal (Secular) to finally fight on a JD(U) ticket in the last assembly polls.
A four-time MLA, Dadan Singh Yadav is well-versed with the political dynamics of Dumraon and enjoys considerable support from the Yadav community. In 2015, Yadav defeated BLSP runner-up, Ram Bihari, by a margin of over 30,000 votes and bagged 47 percent of the total vote share. However, Yadav isn’t the JD(U)’s pick this time as the party decided to field Anjum Ara. A disgruntled Yadav has decided to go alone as an independent candidate, just how he started two decades back.
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In 2020, the fight for Dumraon is between JD(U)’s Anjum Ara, Dadan Yadav and Mahagathbandhan’s Ajit Singh. Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) has fielded Arvind Pratap Shahi whereas Akhilesh Kumar Singh will be fighting on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket.
Adding spice to the fight is another independent candidate who hails from a royal family. Shivang Vijay Singh is the grandson of the late Maharaja Kamal Singh who represented Buxar Parliamentary constituency for two consecutive terms in the 1950s as an independent candidate.
It is worth mentioning that Dumraon’s politics is considered to be dominated by the Muslims and the Yadavs.
Along with 70 other constituencies, Dumraon will go to polls in the first phase of three-phased Bihar assembly elections on October 28. Counting of votes will take place on November 10.