Bhagalpur Ducks Modi Wave to Emerge Congress Bastion

While the BJP unit battles foes within, Sharma counts on successful vote transfer from the support base of the Mahagathbandhan constituents.

By MANISH ANAND

Bhagalpur, November 7, 2025 — Bhagalpur, the silk city of Bihar, remembers Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s now forgotten scheme of smart city — with decorative facades adorning park and graffiti on an airport compound which becomes active in times of elections as helicopters descend. After Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a public meeting in Bhagalpur on Friday.

Gandhi speaking to a well-attended crowd explained the “true meaning of Jungle Raj when a person who never picked a cricket bat in his life (Jay Shah, son of Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah) becomes chairman of the international cricket body.”

The Congress is hoping to beat the BJP for a fourth straight occasion from Bhagalpur Assembly seat. Ajit Sharma, the Congress candidate, has won three straight elections from Bhagalpur while he tries his luck for the fourth time.

The BJP is hoping that the party candidate, Rahit Pandey, will emerge victorious after he lost 2020 polls with just about 500 votes. But Pandey is battling foes within his party, as well as squaring off against Sharma, a powerful local businessman.

Local BJP workers said that Pandey has too many “enemies within the ranks of the BJP.” “The BJP loses here because of the disarray in the party unit,” said a long-term RSS functionary in Bhagalpur.

Ahead of the announcement of Pandey’s name as the candidate of the BJP from Bhagalpur, local media buzzed with reports that former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain was hopeful of bagging the nomination of the party. Nishikant Dubey, the BJP MP from neighbouring Godda Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand, was also reported in the media for seeking ticket for his spouse from here. Former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey’s son Arijit Saraswat had put up large hoardings to seemingly assert his claim for the seat.

While the BJP unit battles foes within, Sharma counts on successful vote transfer from the support base of the Mahagathbandhan constituents. “Sharma sits pretty with MY (Muslim-Yadav) combination, as well the votes of Bhumihar to which he belongs, besides Gangotas (fishermen community),” said a senior BJP functionary here.

The people in Bhagalpur lament that the city despite being the second largest urban hub in Bihar after Patna has been neglected under the NDA rule. Locals lament that while airports became operational in Darbhanga and Purnea, demand of the city has not yet been fulfilled for an airport. Locals also lament here that Bhagalpur also has not been given attention by the Nitish Kumar government in setting up industries.

Bhagalpur 1989: The Dark Chapter That Changed Bihar’s Politics

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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