Lok Sabha polls 2014: Interesting battle on the cards in Patna Sahib

PATNA: Very few Bihar constituencies match the star attraction of Patna Sahib this time around. In the race are BJP's Shatrughan Sinha, who prides himself as the "shaan" of Bihar, Congress's Kunal Singh, a popular Bhojpuri actor, JD(U)'s Gopal Prasad Sinha and AAP's Parveen Amanullah, former minister in Nitish's government.

In 2009, the Bihari Babu rode the BJP-JD(U) alliance and Nitish Kumar's sushasan wave to win the seat easily. But this time around, things haven't been that simple. RJD and Congress were never pushovers here. Despite his task cut out, Sinha confidently claims he faces no contest. He says BJP support is spread evenly among all castes that include over 1.3 lakh Bhumihars and over 1.5 lakh Rajputs.

Shatrughan's main rival, JD(U)'s Sinha (71) has campaigned tirelessly. The medical practitioner banks on 70,000 Kurmi voters, Nitish Kumar's caste. He also hopes for support from more than 60,000 Brahmins. Sinha's wife Indira Jha is a Brahmin. "I'm fighting for Bihar's self-respect and at the cost of my roaring practice as a doctor," he says.

But people like Ajay Kumar of Nehru Nagar could seriously dent the JDU nominee's chances. "In Bihar, I'm with Nitish, but JD(U) has no role in government formation at the Centre. I will vote BJP to get rid of UPA," he says.

AAP's Parveen Amanullah , 56, is arguably her party's only candidate to add spice to the election. Parveen could queer the pitch for BJP and Congress — Patna Sahib is home to over 2 lakh Muslim electors. "I'm confi dent people will go beyond caste," she says. Her father was diplomat turned Janata Party MP Syed Shahbuddin, her husband's an IAS officer.

Congress's Kunal Singh, 58, who resembles yesteryear actor Jeetendra, writes Yadav within brackets after his name and is banking on 2.5 lakh Yadav and 2 lakh Muslim voters.