Driven by caste equations, Sasaram sees close contest between RLM & RJD

Sasaram: The Sasaram assembly constituency in Rohtas district has emerged as one of the most closely watched seats in the state following the entry of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) supremo Upendra Kushwaha’s wife Snehlata into the fray.

Kushwaha, who has earlier represented the Karakat parliamentary constituency — which includes three assembly segments of Rohtas district — is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the seat from the RJD.The RJD, however, ditching its sitting MLA Rajesh Gupta, has this time fielded Satendra Sah, who was arrested in a dacoity case in Jharkhand soon after filing nomination.Interestingly, both RLM candidate Snehlata and RJD’s Sah share a common feature — their spouses are at the forefront of campaigning.Since Snehlata filed her nomination on Oct 19, Kushwaha has been camping in Sasaram, accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law, who are actively conducting door-to-door campaigns, seeking votes for “development and progress” in the constituency.On the other hand, the RJD candidate’s wife, Tara Devi, is campaigning in his absence after his imprisonment in Jharkhand.Still, the contest appears neck and neck, driven largely by caste and community equations.

Historically, Sasaram had been a BJP stronghold, with the party winning the seat four times since 1990. However, in 2020, the BJP vacated the seat for its ally JD(U) under a seat-sharing arrangement, but the candidate lost by a significant margin of over 26,000 votes. In the current election, the RLM has secured the seat under the NDA alliance, while the 2020 JD(U) candidate, Ashok Kumar Singh, is contesting this time as a BSP nominee.During her electioneering, the RLM candidate is missing no opportunity in highlighting the enhancement in old age pension to Rs 1,100 per month and Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, launched just before the announcement of election, under which Rs 10,000 cash is given to women for starting their business.Community-wise, the Sasaram constituency has long been considered a stronghold of the Kushwahas, who have dominated its political landscape for decades.

From 1980 to 2015, every winning and runners-up candidate belonged to the Kushwaha caste, reflecting the community’s overwhelming electoral influence in the region.This consistent pattern prompted all major political parties to field candidates from the Kushwaha community.However, the 2020 election marked a significant shift. The RJD’s decision to field a candidate from Baniya community proved to be a successful experiment, as the party managed to wrest the seat, signalling a possible change in the constituency’s traditional voting pattern.

In this election too, the RJD replaced its sitting MLA with a candidate from the Baniya community, Sah.So, the RLM appears to be targeting the traditional NDA vote bank of the Baniya community, which constitutes nearly 12% of the total electorate in Sasaram.To consolidate this support, Kushwaha has been holding separate meetings with subcastes within the Baniya community. The diminished image of the RJD candidate is also believed to be working in favour of the RLM.However, people lamented that amid caste politics, basic issues like education, health and clean drinking water remain ignored.“Sasaram, despite being a district headquarters, faces severe neglect — no new girls’ school or college in 60 years, limited postgraduate subjects, poor drinking water facility, no public toilets and inadequate healthcare with no ICU or ultrasound facility in sadar hospital,” said Om Prakash Agrawal, a prominent businessman of the town.Meanwhile, Snehlata’s “outsider” tag — as she hails from Vaishali district — has posed a challenge to her campaign.Senior Congress leader Ali Hussain said that the NDA’s popular slogan, “Vocal for local”, seems hollow as the alliance has fielded what he called a “foreigner”. “The slogan loses meaning when a candidate with no connection to the region is contesting in the name of development,” he said.Kushwaha has countered the criticism, citing that Sasaram’s parliamentary seat has often been represented by leaders from outside the district, including Jagjivan Ram, Meira Kumar and Munilal Ram, all of whom served in the Union Cabinet.Local supporters like Thakur Mukhiya are assuring voters that if elected, Snehlata will receive a key portfolio in the state govt. Kushwaha, leveraging his position as a Rajya Sabha member, has also promised that he will channel crores of rupees from development funds to bring long-overdue progress to the region — work, he claims, “that previous MLAs and MPs failed to deliver”.“The growing prestige and influence of RLM supremo Kushwaha can be gauged from the fact that despite being a star campaigner of the NDA, he has largely confined his electioneering efforts to the Sasaram constituency,” claimed senior RJD leader Jai Shankar Sharma.Political observers note that a leader of Kushwaha’s stature, designated as an NDA star campaigner, would typically campaign across the state for alliance candidates. However, his primary focus remains on ensuring victory for his wife.