How is it defending a 1,700-vote win amid growing displeasure?

The incumbent MP of this Lok Sabha constituency Chandeshwar Prasad is sweating bullets as political temperatures soar amid an interesting fight among the Janata Dal United Rashtriya Janata Dal Bahujan Samaj Party and an independent candidate who filed his nomination late Prasad the JDU candidate had won the 2019 poll by a margin of 1751 votes dethroning Dr Arun Kumar who is contesting the election on a BSP ticket this timePrasad is facing protests by people in his constituency as locals have been asking him lsquoWhere were you in the past five yearsrsquo Many locals on the conditions of anonymity told midday that Prasad had never visited his constituency since he came to power ldquoBut today he is roaming the villages requesting people to vote for himrdquo said a person close to PrasadThe BSP candidate and former MP Dr Arun Kumar a Bhumihar who enjoys the support of DalitsldquoThough I am visiting with him Prasad I donrsquot think he will win this time Voters are very annoyed with him and JDU heavyweights are also worried about securing Jehanabad seatrdquo he added As young electors at many villages in the Jehanabad seat have shooed the sitting MP away the JDU has been trying to do damage control sending big leaders including Mungerrsquos sitting MP Lalan Singh to the constituency to influence uppercaste voters into opting for PrasadCaste equationsAll the political parties have fielded candidates keeping in mind the castesensitive Lok Sabha constituency of Jehanabad whose soil was soaked in blood in the 1990s The electoral contest in the seat where Bhumihars Yadavs OBCs and Dalits reside in their respective enclaves epitomises the prevalence of caste politics in Bihar The RJD has fielded a muscleman Surendra Yadav The BSP candidate Dr Arun Kumar is a Bhumihar an upper caste comprising landlordsThere are more than 16 lakh voters in the constituency which is dominated by Bhumihars and Yadavs As parties are trying to woo voters from the two archrival communities tickets have been given to candidates belonging to either Voters belonging to Kushwaha Muslim community and landless SCST will also play a major role in the electoral battleSurendra Yadav the RJD candidate and musclemanThe majority of upper castes in Bihar support the BJPled National Democratic Alliance NDA As JDUrsquos Prasad belongs to the Chandravashi community there is talk of Bhumihars being dissatisfied In Jehanabad Yadav and Bhumihar candidates have come to power nine and seven times respectively Voters in Jehanabad tend to support candidates from their own caste regardless of their criminal history or development record After speaking with many voters in Jehanabad midday learnt that many of those who voted in favour of the JD U in the last general election plan to support Dr KumarBloody pastJehanabad witnessed carnage in the 1990s when hundreds of people from backward classes and Dalits were ruthlessly murdered during the regime of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav Bloodshed occurred at Bara village in 1992 after members of the oppressed community ruthlessly slit the throats of 40 people belonging to the Bhumihar caste in the Gaya district reportedly due to a property dispute with the landlords The Jehanabad carnage was the consequence of the Bara massacre where Bhumihars were primarily targeted So intense were the hatred and anger of the attackers that scores of people were ruthlessly put to deathYadav vs Yadav vs KumarThe RJD candidate Surendra Yadav had his hopes pinned on getting Yadav votes but the sudden entry of an independent candidate will make a huge dent in his votes share The former parliamentarian Dr Kumar enjoys the support of Dalits Local sources told midday that Dr Kumar is set to get the Bhumihar and Dalit vote this election ldquoas he has done a lot for the oppressed people from the SCST communitiesrdquoChandeshwar Prasad who is contesting the Jehanabad Lok Sabha seat on a JDU ticketThis time Yadavrsquos chances of victory were high until a former RJD leader Munilal Yadav filed his nomination as an independent candidate from the Jehanabad constituency Now the Yadav votes are expected to be divided ldquoMunilal will certainly make a dent in the bastion of Surendra Yadavrdquo hoped the source Sources close to Surendra Yadav said he has been tense since Munilal announced his candidatureldquoBut Munilal Yadav is equally worried as he had hoped to contest on an RJD ticket However despite assurances from top RJD leaders the ticket was given to Lalursquos blueeyed candidate Surendra Yadavrdquo said a local source ldquoTherefore the disgruntled Munilal has jumped into the arena as an independent candidate His Yadav votes have a significant influence If they stand firm they could cause considerable damage to the RJD candidaterdquo the source addedMunilal filed his nomination as an independent as he was suspended from the RJD for six years for not following the party line With the polling date inching closer all the candidates have intensified their road shows public meetings and rallies in Jehanabad which is hardly 50 km from Biharrsquos capital Patna335584Votes polled by Prasad in 201917 LakhNo of voters in Jehanabad LS seat