RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui is contesting elections from the Keoti assembly seat.
Abdul Bari Siddiqui is the RJD's Muslim face. He is contesting elections from the Keoti assembly seat. Polling in Keoti is taking place in the third phase on Saturday. He is seeking an eighth term as an MLA.
A seven-time MLA, he is known to be very close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family. Siddiqui had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014 from Madhubani seat. On both the occasions, he had lost to BJP’s Hukmdev Narayan Yadav. In 2019 as well, he lost election to BJP's Gopal Ji Thakur from Darbhanga.
BIHAR ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2020 FULL COVERAGE
Siddiqui was appointed as the Leader of Opposition following the 2010 assembly election until the split between JD(U) and BJP in 2013. He was the Finance minister in the grand alliance government between November 2015 and July 2017.
Siddiqui is locked in a keenly contested election tis time. The BJP has fielded Murari Mohan Jha against Siddiqui. RJD's Fraz Fatmi had won from here in 2015. Between 2005 and 2015, the seat was represented by BJP's Ashok Kumar Yadav.
Although he is banking on Muslim-Yadav to score a win, Siddiqui's path to the Legislative Assembly will be determined by the voting behavior of non-Yadav OBCs.
READ MORE: Bihar Election 2020: Key candidates contesting in third phase
