Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar is all set to witness a contest between the LJP (Ram Vilas) and RJD. The constituency is one of the high-profile ones in the state as Chirag Paswan, a part of the BJP-led NDA, will contest from his late father’s seat for the first time, replacing his uncle and sitting MP Pashupati Paras. Chirag will be up against RJD candidate Shiv Chandra Ram who contested unsuccessfully in the 2019 elections against Paras.
Fight for the Hajipur seat
Hajipur Lok Sabha seat became a matter of prestige for Chirag Paswan. There was a tussle between him and his uncle Pashupati Paras over staking claim on the seat for the 2024 polls. However, the BJP allotted the seat to Chirag along with four other seats in Bihar as part of the seat-sharing pact. Miffed over the BJP’s decision, minister in the Narendra Modi government Pashupati Paras resigned from the government. Chirag has been insisting that he, who is a sitting two-time MP from Jamui, would contest from Hajipur this time. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, LJP's Pashupati Kumar Paras got 5,41,310 votes, while RJD's Shiv Chandra Ram got 3,35,861 votes. Independent candidate Raj Paswan also contested from this seat, who got 30,797 votes. In the 2019 elections, 11 candidates were in the fray for this seat.
Chirag Paswan vs Shiv Chandra Ram
Chirag Paswan is contesting from Hajipur Lok Sabha seat this time. Earlier, Chirag was elected MP from Jamui seat. He had won the 2014 and 2019 elections from Jamui seat. However, this time he had decided to contest elections from his father's seat. Chirag's father Ram Vilas Paswan had been MP from Hajipur Lok Sabha seat 9 times. Chirag has fielded his brother-in-law Arun Bharti from Jamui. Chirag Paswan is in direct competition with former minister Shiv Chandra Ram.
Hajipur and its caste equation
Hajipur seat has more voters from SC-ST community. Lakhs of voters from Paswan, Harijan and other Dalit communities play a decisive role in every election. There are also a significant number of voters from the OBC community including Bhumihar, Rajput, Kushwaha. Vaishali district was formed on 12 October 1972, which was earlier a part of Muzaffarpur. The headquarters of Vaishali district is Hajipur. There are six assembly seats under Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, which include Hajipur, Lalganj, Mahua, Raja Pakar, Raghopur and Mehnar.
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