16/04/2019

Kishanganj has become a prestige seat for JDU

 

Shams Khan





Nitish Kumar's JDU is feeling the heat in Kishanganj to prove that it still has the backing of Muslim community even though the party returned to the Narendra Modi led NDA fold. 

In the Muslim dominant constituency of the semanchal region, Congress’ Md. Jawed, AIMIM’s state president Akhtarul Iman and JDU's Mahmood Ashraf are locked into triangular fight. 

Its needs to be recalled that Akhtarul Iman though now in the fray on AIMIM ticket was the Janta Dal United candidate in 2014 but just days before the polling he withdrew in the favor of Congress candidate Asrarul Haque (now late). 

That fear is still haunting JDU. It is perhaps because of this reason that a galaxy of Muslim leaders such as Shia wqf board Chairman Irshad Ali Azad, MLCs' Ghulam Rasool Balyavi and Khalid Anwar are camping in Kishanganj to keep an eye on the party nominee. 

Moreover, JDU sees an opportunity that if the party gets some Muslim votes it will obviously boost the prospect of its nominee Mahmood Ashraf. However, a local teacher Abu Bakar out rightly rejected any possibility of Mahmood getting significant Muslim votes. 

After switching over to BJP in 2017, Nitish popularity graph among Muslims is at all time low. By polls held in March 2018 have amply proved that Muslims are behind RJD. Grand Alliance candidate Sarfaraz Alam trounced the common BJP and JDU candidate in nearby Araria parliamentary constituency.

Therefore, JDU is leaving no stone unturned for Kishanganj seat which has potential to impact the party's bargaining position within NDA.

 

     








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