A surefooted NDA challenged by a determined INDIA bloc may be the big story of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, but in a Bihar seat, the narrative has come to be centred around an Independent candidate.
Situated in the state’s northeastern corner, Purnea, named after the eponymous district, has been known to literature aficionados as the land where Phanishwar Nath Renu lived and breathed life into famous characters like Hiraman, played on the big screen by Raj Kapoor in ‘Teesri Kasam’.
In the battle for 2024, the place is hogging the limelight, primarily because of Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who according to some opinion polls, may turn out to be the dark horse when votes are counted on June 4.
This is despite the fact that the NDA candidate is JD(U) MP who is aiming at a hat-trick while the INDIA bloc has thrown its weight behind Bima Bharti, who recently quit Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party and was promptly rewarded by arch-rival Lalu Prasad with the RJD ticket.
Yadav has represented the seat thrice, in the 1990s, winning by huge margins, twice as an Independent and once on the ticket of Samajwadi Party, which is a major force in Uttar Pradesh but has never been a serious player in Bihar.
