(From top) A supporter carries a flag of an Independent candidate at Naubatpur village. The Bikram police station. A farmer tills land at the village. Pictures by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Distribution of tickets for the Bikram Assembly constituency in Patna rural had created turmoil in the BJP. Former MLA and BJP leader Ram Janam Sharma’s name first figured in the list of the party nominees. But he was denied a ticket after much hullabaloo.

Bihar BJP president Dr C.P. Thakur had resigned over the issue. The matter was settled only after sitting MLA from Bikram Assembly constituency, Anil Kumar, was declared the official nominee of the NDA.

Anil’s nomination from this Bhumihar-dominated constituency generated heat in the rank and file of the party.

Reason: He (Anil) had won the February 2005 election on a ticket of the LJP defeating Sharma. He later joined the BJP. He contested the Assembly elections in October-November 2005 as a BJP candidate and got elected.

“This time, Anil is facing a challenge from his own party leader and former MLA Ram Janam,” said Shivendra Kumar, who runs a construction material shop near the Naubatpur-Bikram crossing.

While Thakur campaigned regularly to ensure the victory of the BJP’s official nominee, other party leaders such as deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi preferred to maintain a distance from Anil.

“Modi visited the neighbouring Paliganj Assembly constituency at least five times but he did not bother to campaign even once at Bikram. He was conspicuous by his absence even during the party’s rally on November 6, which was addressed by L.K. Advani,” said Ganga Pundit, a resident of Gorkhari village.

Sudama Sao of Khoraijha village said: “It is a fight between two stalwarts of the state unit of the BJP in Bikram. If Anil wins, it will strengthen the weight of Dr Thakur in the party. If he loses, Modi’s graph will go up.”

Modi had cleared Ram Janam’s name for Bikram seat.

For Dr Thakur, who had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from this seat in 1995 as a Congress nominee, it is a time to regain lost glory. “Dr Thakur’s prestige is at stake in Bikram,” said Sanjay Sharma, a resident of Abharan Chak village, the native place of BJP rebel Ram Janam.

The LJP-RJD combine has fielded Siddharth, son of Dr Utpal Kant, a noted medical practitioner of Patna. “Dr Kant’s native place is Amhara. Anil, the NDA nominee, also belongs to that place,” said Chanchal Kumar of Amhara village.

“We are confused over who to support this time. At least two contestants — Siddharth and Kumar — belong to the Bhumihar community and are from Amhara,” Chanchal pointed out.

Siddharth, who decided to jump into the poll ring after being exonerated of a murder charge about two years ago under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, is facing heat from none other than RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s brother-in-law Subhash Yadav. He has thrown his hat in the ring as an Independent candidate. He is trying to make a dent in the Yadav vote bank.

“Lalu’s confidant Ram Kripal Yadav is campaigning in Yadav-dominated areas and trying to convince Yadavs not to support Subhash as Lalu was dethroned because of him,” said diehard RJD supporter Mukesh Yadav.

Yadavs constitute a major chunk of voters in the constituency. There are 45,000 voters of the Yadav community in the constituency.

Even Lalu and his former chief minister-wife Rabri Devi campaigned for Siddharth and warned the electorate against votkatwa (vote splitter).

Though development is not an issue in this constituency, everyone admits that there has been improvement in law and order in the Naxalite-affected parts of this constituency. Road, health and elementary education sectors also saw development in the past five years. But caste remains the deciding factor here.

Four candidates are from the Bhumihar community, who have a sizeable number in this constituency. About 72,000 voters are from this caste.

“Muslim votes will also be a deciding factor,” said Mohammad Sattar of Bikram main market. According to him, 15,000 voters are Muslims. He said earlier a group of Muslims had decided to support NDA nominee Anil Kumar because of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s attitude but the visit of Advani a few days earlier has polarised the Muslims against him.

The voters belonging to Dusadh (Paswan) and Rajput communities cannot be ignored either. Anil Kumar had won the February 2005 Assembly elections on an LJP ticket as around 12,000 Paswans had voted in his favour.

In October-November 2005 polls, Kumar won the seat on the BJP ticket by a margin of about 18,000 votes only when Paswans were not with Lalu. “But this time the scene is different as Paswan’s LJP and Lalu’s RJD are fighting together,” said Lal Babu, a resident of Sriwal Gopalpur.

Engineer Sanjeev Kumar, son of Muzaffarpur-based medical practitioner Dr Mahanand Singh, is contesting on the symbol of the Congress. Sanjeev left his job in the US and decided to try his luck in politics.

Belonging to Shambhukura village, he is among the four Bhumihar candidates in the fray.

Pancham Mahto, a resident of Amarpura under Naubatpur block, is contesting as a Bahujan Samaj Party nominee. CPI and the CPI-ML have fielded Mohammad Ibrahim and Leela Verma, respectively.

Altogether 16 contestants are in the fray from Bikram Assembly constituency, which was once represented by veteran CPI leader Ram Nath Yadav. He was first elected in 1977 after defeating Kailash Pati Mishra, who was finance minister in the Karpoori Thakur cabinet. Yadav represented the seat four times.

In the present scenario, it is very difficult for the contestants to gauge the mood of the electorate. Almost all major political party candidates are facing heat from Independents in this constituency. Moreover, delimitation has added to the woes of the contestants. Only time will tell who is the winner.

• Name of the Place: Bikram, 40km northwest of Patna
• Key Fight: Anil Kumar (BJP) vs Siddharth (LJP-RJD combine)
• X-Factor: Caste equation
• The Buzz: Infighting in the BJP