JD(U)'s Bijendra Yadav looks to retain his stronghold of Supaul; Congress, Jan Suraaj hope to break new ground

While JD(U) is expected to battle some anti-incumbency, the seat has been its stronghold and the opposition candidates have their task cut out.

Supaul constituency is set to have a high-stakes battle with the Janata Dal (United) looking to maintain its over two-decade-long winning streak here, while the Congress and Jan Suraaj Party are making efforts to unseat the incumbent.

Supaul will vote in the second phase of the Bihar elections, set to take place on November 11. The Janata Dal (United) has again fielded its long-term MLA Bijendra Prasad Yadav, who is Minister for Energy, Planning and Development in the Nitish Kumar government. Congress has fielded Minnatullah Rahmani, and Jan Suraaj has fielded Anil Kumar Singh.

Bijendra Prasad Yadav is an eight-time MLA from Supaul has won past several elections as JD(U) candidate. Before the 2000 assembly elections, Yadav had represented the erstwhile Janata Dal.

Known locally as 'Kosi ke Vishwakarma', Yadav has taken initiatives to complete infrastructure projects, including building roads and bridges, among others.

The constituency has a mix of communities, including Muslims, Yadavs and Dalits.

Development work in the constituency and employment opportunities seem to be the main concern for voters.

While JD(U) is expected to battle some anti-incumbency, the seat has been its stronghold and the opposition candidates have their task cut out.

Yadav, 79, is banking on the work he has done in the area while the opposition candidates - much younger to him - are hoping that yearning for change among sections of people will be strong enough to get them through.

Rahmani, 42, and Singh, 61, are reaching out to people with a message of change and pointing to the promises made by their parties.

Yadav and Rahmani had faced each other in 2020 assembly polls also. The JD(U) candidate won the seat by a huge margin of over 86,000 votes. In 2015, Yadav had fought against a BJP candidate.

Before Yadav started making the constituency his own from 1990, it was a stronghold of Congress. The party won the seat in 1952, 1958, 1967, 1969, 1972 and 1980 elections.