With 60% polling in phase 3, voters seal fate of Sharad Yadav in Madhepura, Mukesh Sahni in Khagaria; Supaul, Araria to reveal depth of grand alliance

The fate of senior leader Sharad Yadav was sealed in Madhepura on Tuesday. He represented the Lok Sabha constituency multiple times on different symbols and even defeated RJD boss Lalu Prasad Yadav, but he is facing tough time this election even though he is contesting on RJD symbol. The voting percentage was comparatively high in the five parliamentary seats in Bihar, which voted in phase 3 of the general elections to Lok Sabha. While Supaul and Araria registered over 62 percent, 59.12 percent poling was recorded in Madhepura, 58.83 percent in Khagaria and 56.92 percent in Jhanjharpur, with an overall percentage of 60 percent in the five constituencies. [caption id=“attachment_6503061” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Voters in phase 3 of the Bihar Lok Sabha polls. Twitter@CEOBihar[/caption] Others who are trying their luck in Tuesday’s voting in Madhepura include Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav who is posing a serious threat to Sharad, a former national president of JD(U) in a triangular contest. Pappu won this seat in 2014 as RJD nominee and had defeated Sharad who was JD(U) candidate. Pappu floated his own party, Jana Adhikar Manch, after dissociating from RJD. In the neighbouring Supaul constituency Pappu’s wife and two term Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan is fighting a tough battle. Despite the fact that Congress is part of the grand alliance in Bihar, Ranjeet failed to clinch support of RJD in her constituency. The RJD was angry with her for her husband’s insistence to challenge Sharad Yadav. To teach him a lesson, the party fielded one of its functionary in Supaul, while Tejashwi Yadav who is campaigning for the grand alliance candidates didn’t go to Supaul even though Congress president Rahul Gandhi campaigned for Ranjeet. Araria is one seat which the RJD is confident of winning, and from where its sitting MP Sarfaraz Alam is contesting. Son of RJD stalwart late Mohammad Taslimuddin, Alam is trying to retain the seat he won in a bypoll after his father’s death. Pradip Singh of BJP is challenging the family’s hegemony there. In Khagaria, the political greenhorn Mukesh Sahni, who floated his own Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) recently and joined the Bihar grand alliance, is trying his luck for his maiden entry to the Lok Sabha. Struggling to retain his seat is Chaudhary Mahboob Ali Qaisar of the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). Qaisar got the nickname of absentee MP during the past five years and even his party had practically trashed him but got the ticket at the last moment. Sahni is highly confident of his victory in the “one-sided” contest. Famous for glass works on film sets Sahni recently said that the fisherman community is highly enthusiastic that someone from their backward society is doing well in politics.