E-Paper
Bihar Election 2020: Ghafoor’s absence looms large in Mahishi as RJD seeks to capture lost ground
In 2015, RJD’s Abdul Ghafoor had defeated Chandan Kumar Sah of RSPL by 26,135 votes. In January, Gafoor passed away after suffering from liver ailment.
Mahishi, the largely rural seat located in Saharsa district of Bihar, comes under the Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency. It is one of the 78 seats where voting will be held in the third phase of the Bihar assembly elections on November 7.
The National Democratic alliance (NDA), which has Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) and others, has fielded Gunjeshwar Sah as its candidate from Mahishi. From the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has fielded Gautam Krishna as its candidate. So the seat will witness a direct contest between JD(U) and RJD making it one of the 20 constituencies where the two parties are in a direct contest in the upcoming phase of election.
In 2015, RJD’s Abdul Ghafoor had defeated Chandan Kumar Sah of RSPL by 26,135 votes. In January, Gafoor passed away after suffering from liver ailment. Since then, the seat has remained empty.
Click here for complete coverage of Bihar assembly elections.
Ghafoor had first contested from the seat in 1995 and defeated veteran Congress leader and freedom fighter Lahtan Choudhary. After the Janata Dal split, Ghafoor joined RJD and remained a part of the party until his death. He was not only the longest serving MLA from Mahishi, but was also sworn in as the Minority welfare minister in the Nitish Kumar government and remained so until the RJD-JD(U) alliance split.
The absence of a minister of such a tall order is certainly being felt by the RJD which is trying to gain lost ground. On the other hand, the JD(U) sees Ghafoor’s absence as an opportunity. Gunjeshwar Sah has also been a prominent name in the region as he has contested before from the seat in 2005.
As per the voter list of 2019, there are 2,87,707 electorates and 307 polling stations in this constituency. Voter turnout was 57.39% in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 53.47% in the 2015 assembly elections. The counting of the votes will take place on November 10.
