Lok Sabha elections: On Nitish Kumar’s turf, CPI (ML) sees an opening

iIn the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) won five of the seven seats falling within the Nalanda Lok Sabha constituency. Its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also won a seat. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hails from Nalanda and he had represented the country in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. His party’s dominance on the seat is a barometer of his personal popularity.

In the last three polls – 2009, 2014 and 2019 – Kaushalendra Kumar of JDU has won from Nalanda. Kurmis, the community where Nitish comes from, is estimated to comprise a quarter of the electorate. For the 2024 contest, Kaushalendra will face Sandeep Saurav of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist Liberation) (CPI-ML).

Part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led alliance in Bihar, Nalanda is one of the three seats for which the Left party is contesting.

Saurav, 37, holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University and won the 2020 Bihar Assembly poll from Patna’s Paliganj Assembly seat.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) had significant influence in the seat in the 1980s, winning it in 1980, 1984 and 1991.

However, with the emergence of Nitish as the preeminent Kurmi leader in Bihar politics, the seat has remained with the JDU, and before that with its earlier avatar of the Samata Party. Socialist leader George Fernandes won the seat as the Samata Party candidate in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

First print: May 28, 2024 | 11:21 PM IST