Voters gave an indication as to which two were at loggerheads in the triangular conflict in Kishanganj.
– Photo: Amar Ujala Digital
Expansion
In the first phase, elections were held on 102 seats across the country and in the second phase, voting was held in 88 constituencies. In Bihar, voting was held on four seats in the first phase, and voting took place in five constituencies in the second phase. In this voting, Kishanganj is ahead in the morning and again in the evening. Ultimately, among the five seats in Bihar, the highest voter turnout of 64 percent took place here. This is slightly less than the 66 percent voting in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. Meaning, the figure is not as discouraging as compared to the remaining eight seats of Bihar that have voted so far. There was maximum relief from the heat here. Of the five seats in Bihar where elections were held, the lowest temperature of 38 degrees was recorded here. So, was the turnout good here just because of the heat? No – that’s the straight answer. Kishanganj is a different type of seat, it had told this in 2019 also. This time too this seat will tell – that’s for sure.
It was 66 percent last time; Less this time, but must have played
Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat had shocked the National Democratic Alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. NDA won 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar, except Kishanganj seat. Then, the winning Congress candidate Mohd. Javade got 33.32 percent votes, Syed Mahmood Ashraf of the losing Janata Dal United got 30.19 percent votes and Akhtarul Iman, candidate of Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM, got 26.78 percent votes. In a way, there was a very close contest on this seat and 89 percent of the total votes were divided among these three. This time the candidates of Congress and AIMIM are the same, JDU had to field a new face – Master Mujahid Alam. This time the voting was two percent less as compared to 2019. This deficiency is not a big deal.
Difference between victory and defeat and distance in answers to some questions
The real issue is whether JDU appeared as strong on this seat as last time? The answer to this question was given by the people who attended the meetings of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Secondly, whether the manner in which Owaisi worked continuously for 48 hours day and night to field AIMIM, which was at third place by a very narrow margin, in the main contest, and made provocative statements, did it not benefit him in this Muslim-dominated seat? Would you have found it? Another question is whether Congress will not suffer any loss if it delays in announcing the name of the winning candidate? The answer to these questions lies in the mathematics of win-loss and difference. Another thing that is also being discussed is that BJP again showed indifference on this seat. Among the national leaders, only former Union Minister and national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain was sent here. In CM Nitish Kumar’s meeting, he was seen appealing for votes for the JDU candidate, while apart from Bhagalpur, Shahnawaz’s own name was in discussion on this seat.