Raghopur: Can Tejashwi Yadav keep RJD's fortress intact?

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is seeking re-election from Raghopur Assembly seat in Vaishali district. Raghopur is one of the 94 assembly seats where polling is taking place in the second phase today. It is a part of the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat. Tejashwi is also the opposition Grand Alliance's Chief Ministerial candidate. Tejashwi, 31, has been aggressively trying to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor against the Nitish Kumar government.

Tejashwi, the younger son of Lalu Prasad, had taken the electoral plunge from Raghopur in 2015, when he had barely reached the qualifying age of 25 for fighting polls. He won the election and went on to become the deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whom he would call chacha (uncle) then, an expression of respect and alliance. But the alliance fell apart in 2017, and now Tejashwi is challenging his chacha for the top post.

A RJD stronghold, the BJP managed to wrest the seat in the 2010 elections. Before Tejashwi won from here, the seat was represented by BJP leader Satish Kumar. Satish defeated Tejashwi's mother Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, in 2010.

This time again, the BJP has retained its trust in Satish Kumar, hoping that the giant killer will be able to do a repeat of 2010.

Raghpur seat is a Yadav-dominated constituency across river Ganga which Lalu Prasad had won in 1995, 2000, and his wife Rabri Devi in 2005.

BIHAR ASSEMBLY ELECTION 2020: FULL COVERAGE

Tejashwi and Satish Kumar are among 12 candidates in the fray from Raghopur seat in the 2020 Bihar polls.

The Chirag Paswan-headed Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has fielded Rakesh Roshan to make the contest triangular.

As per the voter list of 2019, there are 3,36,613 electorate in Raghopur assembly segment. While over 1.30 lakh Yadavs form the bulk of the voters, the constituency has a significant presence of upper caste Rajputs, whose electorate size is estimated at around 40,000 followed by Muslims 22,000 and Paswans 18,000.