Arun Lata Sharma.
Sitamarhi : Sitamarhi is the birth place of Goddess Sita (Janki) and during Treta Yug it was under king Janak’s empire of Janakpur (now in Nepal). The famous Janki temple is situated in the town and work is under process to connect it with Ramayana circuit.
Sitamarhi district comprises eight assembly constituencies (ACs) and more than 24 lakh voters will exercise their mandate in the ensuing Bihar Assembly elections. In phase-II, three assembly constituencies: Sitamarhi, Runnisaidpur,and Belsand will go to polls on November 3, 2020, and in third phase, Riga, Bathanaha, Parihar, Sursand, and Bajpatti, voters will cast their votes on November 7, 2020, to elect their representatives. Altogether 121 candidates are trying their luck.
In 2015, the RJD had won the Runnisaidpur, Sitamarhi and Sursand seats. Congress won the Riga seat. The BJP succeeded in winning Parihar and Bathanaha whereas JD(U) registered victory in Bajpatti and Belsand.
This time, the BJP is contesting from Parihar, Bathanaha, Riga and Sitamarhi while the JD(U) has fielded its candidates from Bajpatti, Sursand, Runnisaidpur, and Belsand. The RJD is contesting Belsand, Runnisaidpur, Sitamarhi, Bajpatti, Sursand and Parihar assembly seats while Congress candidates are contesting from Bathanaha and Riga constituencies. It may be mentioned here that the district is surrounded by Nepal from northern side.
Sitamarhi : It figures on international map owing to Goddess Janki and is considered a stronghold of BJP. Former minister Sunil Kumar Pintu, his father Hari Shankar Prasad, and even grandfather Kishori Lal Sah have represented the seat several times. But Pintu was defeated by RJD candidate Sunil Kumar in 2015 Assembly polls. His luck smiled and in 2019, he became member of Parliament by switching over to JD(U).
There are 12 candidates in fray for Sitamarhi seat in 2020 Assembly polls. The sitting RJD MLA Sunil Kumar is in direct fight with BJP nominee Mithilesh Kumar, a Ph. D. degree holder. The upper caste voters may polarise in favour of Mithilesh and OBC and Muslims may back Sunil. The silent town voters may change the scene. The number of total voters in this constituency are 2,92,355 in which 1,37,029 are females.
Belsand : The Chittorgarh of Sitamarhi has elected several socialist leaders since independence. Thakur Girija Nandan Singh, Ramanand Singh, Ram Surat Singh, Prof. Digvijay Pratap Singh, former union minister Prof. Raghuvansha Prasad Singh, and Brishan Patel represented Belsand assembly constituency in the past. The constituency is spread over two districts – Sitamarhi and Sheohar.
Belsand, Parsauni ( both in Sitamarhi district) and Tariyani (Sheohar) blocks constitute the assembly seat. Fifteen candidates including three-time sitting JD(U) MLA Sunita Singh Chauhan are in fray from this seat. The RJD has once again fielded former MLA Sanjay Kumar Gupta. The LJP has fielded Md. Nasir Ahmad. Altogether 2,65,927 voters will exercise their franchise on November 3, 2020.
Bathanaha (SC) : Fourteen candidates are in fray from Bathnaha constituency. The BJP has changed its candifate, sitting MLA Dinkar Ram, and has fielded Anil Kumar from here. Dinkar Ram wanted ticket for his grandson but in vain. He was replaced owing to poor health. His supporters even burnt the effigy of senior BJP leader and Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi. Anil has to face the wrath of former MLA if they fail to reach a truce. Congress has fielded Sanjay Ram. More than three lakh voters will exercise their franchise in the constituency on November 7, 2020.
Parihar : This is a bordering constituency. Ritu Kumar alias Ritu Jaiswal, Mukhia of Singwahini Panchayat, is a RJD nominee from here. She is a recipient of several national and international level awards for her tremendous work in the panchayat. Her husband was commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission but she left the cozy atmosphere and became a Mukhia to serve the rural masses.
Sitting BJP MLA Gayatri Devi and her husband, also a former BJP MLA Ram Naresh Yadav, are dynamic grassroots politicians. She enjoys support of a large number of yadavs. Thirteen candidates are contesting from here. Md. Amzad Hussain Anwar is RLSP candidate while Sarita Yadav is Jan Adhikar Party nominee. Around 3.2 Lakh voters will participate in the election.