With the Bihar assembly elections on the horizon, the state is witnessing a flurry of political activity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent leaders are frequently visiting Bihar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also actively engaging with voters. He is scheduled to visit Sitamarhi, where he will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Janaki Temple. This visit strategically targets the 49 constituencies within the Tirhut division, including Sitamarhi.
Shah’s itinerary includes a stop in Darbhanga followed by a visit to Punauradham in the Sitamarhi district. There, he will inaugurate the Janaki Temple’s redevelopment project, which is estimated to cost over ₹882.87 crore. This location is considered the birthplace of Goddess Sita. The ceremony will be attended by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and several Union Ministers. The temple is being constructed on a sprawling 67-acre area and is slated for completion within 11 months. The temple’s design mirrors the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra in Ayodhya. Punauradham is situated approximately 5 kilometers west of the Sitamarhi district headquarters.
The Tirhut division, also known as Tirhut Commissionerate, comprises six districts with Muzaffarpur as its headquarters. These districts are Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, West Champaran (headquartered in Bettiah), East Champaran (headquartered in Motihari), Vaishali (headquartered in Hajipur), and Sheohar. These six districts collectively represent 49 assembly seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited East Champaran on July 18th. This region is considered a stronghold for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Amit Shah aims to either maintain or improve upon the 2020 election results.
The NDA holds a strong grip in the Muzaffarpur district, securing victory in 6 out of 11 seats. The NDA currently holds these 6 seats. In 2020, Musafir Paswan of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), who contested the Bochahan seat with the NDA, won. However, after his death, his son joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and won the 2022 by-election.
West Champaran has been a BJP bastion. In the 2020 elections, the NDA won 8 out of 9 seats. The BJP secured 7 seats, while its ally, the Janata Dal United (JDU), won one seat. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) secured only one victory from the Sikta seat, won by the CPI-ML.
In the neighboring East Champaran district, the NDA won 9 out of 12 seats. The BJP won 8 of these seats, the JDU won one, and the RJD secured victory in 3 seats.
Vaishali district, a politically significant area in Bihar, is predominantly a Yadav-dominated region and is considered a stronghold of Lalu Yadav. The district has 8 assembly seats, with the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan each winning 4 seats. The BJP won 3 of the NDA seats, while the RJD also won 3 seats, and its ally, the Congress, won one.
Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader and a contender for the Chief Minister’s post, won the 2020 election from the Raghopur seat and aims to achieve a hat-trick of victories. His father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and mother, Rabri Devi, have also won elections from this constituency.
Sitamarhi, known as the birthplace of Goddess Sita, has 8 assembly seats. The NDA won 6 seats, with the BJP alone securing 4 seats. The RJD won 2 seats. In the Sheohar district, the Mahagathbandhan won the sole seat in the 2020 election, with RJD candidate Chetan Anand winning. However, he later joined the JDU, shifting the seat to the NDA.
Overall, the NDA has maintained a strong presence in this division. In the 2020 elections, the BJP fielded candidates in 110 seats and won 74. This impressive performance made the BJP the second-largest single party in the assembly, after the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The ruling JDU experienced a setback, with their seats decreasing from 71 to 43. The JDU leader Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister for the NDA. The BJP secured 27 seats from this Tirhut division alone out of the 71. The BJP-led NDA secured victory in 33 out of the 49 seats, with the BJP alone winning 27. Consequently, this division holds immense importance for the BJP.
