The politics of Bihar has always torqued around the so-called ‘MY’ combine, referring to the Muslim and Yadav political combination. According to the recently released caste survey, the Muslim community stood at 17.7%, whereas the Yadav populace stood at 14.26% of the State’s population. However, the electoral prospects for Muslims leader seem dim nonetheless, in a trend that runs across party lines.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad has, in the past, claimed that his party “takes electoral flight with more than 31% MY votes”. His party’s uninterrupted run from 1990 to 2005 would seem to back his claim. However, the RJD has fielded only two candidates of the 23 seats it is contesting under mahagathbandhan alliance with other parties. The RJD has put up Shahnawaz Alam, the party’s MLA from Jokihat, in the Muslim dominant seat of Araria seat in northeast Bihar. Mr. Alam, the son of former Union Minister and veteran Muslim leader Mohammed Taslimuddin, had won the last Assembly election on an All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket but joined the RJD in June 2022 along with three other AIMIM legislators. The second Muslim candidate for the RJD is M.A.A. Fatmi from Madhubani.
Under the mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar, the RJD is contesting on 23 seats, whereas the Congress is going for nine seats, the three Left parties on five, and the Mukesh Sahani-led Vikasheel Insaan Party for three seats.
