Bihar polls: Rebels like Dawood Ali and Srikant Yadav add to suspense in four Buxar seats

BUXAR: In Buxar district's four constituencies -Buxar, Brahmapur, Dumraon and Rajpur (reserved) -rival candidates have emerged as potential gamechangers.

Queering the pitch for JD(U) in Dumraon is the incumbent MLA Dawood Ali, who, after he was denied a ticket, went on to join the fray as a candidate of the Pappu Yadav-led Jan Adhikar Party ( JAP). Also in the running is Srikant Yadav, an independent candidate who, the locals claim, is "a copycat" of JD(U) nominee Dadan Yadav alias Dadan Pehalwan. Like Pehalwan, Srikant also helps poor families host marriage functions, renovate temples besides organizing eye check-up camps. While Dawood has considerable sway over Muslim voters, Pehalwan has the potential to split Yadav votes.

Brahmapur's is not a different story. Here, former RJD minister Ajit Choudhari, who's fighting on a BSP ticket, is a worry for not only RJD's Sambhu Yadav but also BJP's Vivek Thakur. Both RJD and BJP are trying to woo the economically backward classes (EBCs). But Choudhari is an EBC himself and his support base among Brahmapur's EBCs is very strong.

For the BJP, incumbent MLA Dilmani Devi is another major cause for concern. Denied a ticket by the saffron alliance, the daugh ter-in-law of BJP founder member late Kailashpati Mishra has joined JD(U) and is campaigning for the Mahagathbandhan's Sambhu Yadav.

In Buxar, JD (U) rebel Ashok Kumar Yadav is trying his luck as independent candidate against Congress candidate Sanjay Tewari and BJP nominee Pradeep Dubey . Ashok was the district president of JD(U) but failed to get a party ticket.That Ashok is a Yadav may cause a split in Yadav votes, which the Congress, being part of the Mahagathbandhan, hopes to corner. There is no good news for BJP either as Umashankar Pandey, formerly with BJP's Kisan Morcha, has joined the fray as an independent.

In Rajpur, former minister and RJD rebel Chhedi Lal Ram is contesting as a JAP candidate. He too is feared to play spoilsport for grand alliance nominee Santosh Nirala of JD (U) since RJD is part of the grand alliance.