Battle for Buxar turning quadrangular in Lok Sabha polls 

Patna, April 12 (IANS) The battle for Buxar is turning out quadrangular in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections on account of some prominent Independent candidates like Dadan Singh Yadav alias Dadan Pahalwan and retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anand Mishra.

Buxar is one of those seats where Brahmins and Rajputs are in a dominant position. As a result, the BJP gave the ticket to a Brahmin candidate Mithilesh Tiwari and the RJD gave the ticket to a Rajput candidate Sudhakar Singh. However, their caste equation was disturbed by the entry of Independent candidates.

Dadan Pahalwan was one of the leaders in Buxar District who always intruded into the core vote bank (Yadav) of the RJD in Bihar.

He won the 2000 Assembly elections as an Independent candidate defeating the nominee of the RJD and then Chief Minister Rabri Devi made him the Finance and Commerce Minister in her Cabinet.

However, later his relations turned sour with the RJD and he joined the JD(U). In the 2015 Assembly election, he won the Dumraon seat on a JD(U) ticket.

He also contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019 as an Independent candidate, cutting into the Yadav vote bank of the RJD.

Anand Mishra, a 2011-batch Assam cadre IPS officer is a native of Shahpur in Buxar District. He took the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) in expectation of a BJP ticket. However, the BJP chose Mithilesh Tiwari as its candidate from the Buxar seat.

The candidates of the BJP and the RJD are not the natives of Buxar. Mithilesh Tiwari belongs to Gopalganj, while Sudhakar Singh is a native of Kaimur District. On the other hand, Dadan Pahalwan and Anand Mishra are natives of Buxar.

“I am contesting as an Independent candidate from Buxar. I was hoping for a ticket from the BJP. However, I did not get it as some people conspired against me. I have decided to stay here and work for the people of Buxar. If the people of Buxar bless me with votes, I will make this district number one in terms of overall development and law and order,” the retired IPS officer said.

The entry of Anand Mishra may cut the upper-caste votes of the BJP in this seat.

In addition to this, the sitting MP Ashwini Kumar Choubey is also disappointed after his ticket was cut by the party.

As per the caste equation, Buxar has around 4 lakh Brahmin voters, nearly 3 lakh Yadav voters, 3 lakh Rajputs, 2.5 lakh Bhumihars and 1.5 lakh Muslim voters.

Apart from this, Kushwaha, Kurmi, Dalit, Mahadalit and other EBC caste people also reside in this constituency.