In Bihar’s Buxar, RJD leader who took on CM Nitish as minister cements pro-farmer image, blurs castelines

At about 2 pm on a sunny afternoon, the crowd at the Brahmpur high school ground erupts as RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alights from a helicopter for his first visit to the Buxar Lok Sabha constituency to campaign for party candidate and former Bihar minister Sudhakar Singh.

As part of the Mahagathbandhan government, Sudhakar had left many red faces in the ranks with his criticism of the alliance’s Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, over his “failure to tackle rampant corruption in the Agriculture Department”. Sudhakar was eventually told to resign by the RJD, to placate its partner JD(U), but in his rebellion, the former minister scored a moral and political victory and now carries a pro-farmer image, blurring castelines.

Tejashwi pitching in for Sudhakar is significant, but then the Buxar Lok Sabha seat is a prestige constituency. Located next to Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting, Buxar is often referred to as “mini Kashi” by the BJP.

Like Tejashwi, Sudhakar too has grown out of his father’s shadow. Sudhakar’s father Jagdanand Singh, a Bihar RJD president and former Buxar MP, is known to have good relations with RJD chief Lalu Prasad. In fact, the only time the BJP has not won the Buxar Lok Sabha seat since 1996 is when Jagdanand was victorious in 2009.

Taking the stage at the high school ground, Tejashwi starts by attacking Modi, and praises Sudhakar for having “served the people of Buxar” as Ramgarh MLA and agriculture minister. As the RJD leader moves on to another meeting after a quick halt, Sudhakar steps in to take questions from reporters, exuding confidence about defeating Mithilesh Tiwari, who has been fielded by the BJP after dropping Union minister and sitting MP Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

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