This is a home constituency for Osama, as the ancestral village, Pratappur, falls under this assembly constituency. The reintegration of the family has been termed a “homecoming” for the family of a one-time confidant of RJD president and former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
What reverberates in Siwan and also in political circles in Patna is not limited to the promises of Osama or the chances of the RJD or the ruling JD(U) in the district. Talks still centre around Shahabuddin despite four years of his death and years of abeyance from state politics.
This factor is amply highlighted by the fact that the RJD had to bring back his wife and son into the party fold and replace its incumbent MLA Hari Shankar Yadav with Osama. In 2020, Yadav not only won second time from the seat, but also pushed the JD(U) candidate to third position courtesy the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) taking away around 50,000 votes.
This time with the LJP and the JD(U) in its camp, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is confident of doing well and has been raising ‘jungle raj’ to target the RJD. “JD(U) candidate got pushed to the third position because of the LJP, but this time round the situation is different and we are confident of winning,” says a senior BJP leader.
According to political experts, the constituency in 2020 had 23 percent Muslim voters while Yadavs accounted for approximately 9.6 per cent and Scheduled Castes 11.5 percent. “This equation makes every election complex and the RJD’s choice also reflects that,” says a political expert.
Senior BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, campaigned for Vikas Singh in this high-profile constituency. RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav had appealed to the voters to vote for Osama as he campaigned in the constituency.
Two sides
Elected as an MLA from Ziradei as an Independent in 1990, Shahabuddin began his political career from his home turf. He was roped into the erstwhile Janata Dal by Lalu and contested both the assembly and Lok Sabha elections successfully in 1995 and 1996, respectively.
When Lalu broke away from the erstwhile Janata Party in 1997 to form the RJD in the wake of action by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Shahabuddin was one of the founding members of the party.
For a long time, Shahabuddin and Siwan have run synonymously. Known as ‘saheb’ among his supporters during the 1990s, the gangster-turned-politician entered the criminal records early in his life. He faced at least 45 cases ranging from kidnapping, murder to extortion in the eastern state at one time.
“Aaj kal doctor log kaise lootate hai pata hai? Unke samay mai 100 rupaye se zyada fees koi nahi leta tha…system banaye the wo. Gareebo ke messiah the wo. Ye gangster sab baad ki baat hai, aur agar kuch kiya toh jail gaye na. Aaj unke bete ko uss baat pe target kyun karna (Do you know how the doctor loots people now? In his time, nobody took more than Rs 100 in fees…that was his system. He was a messiah of the poor. He became a gangster later, and he later went to jail. Why target his son with that?),” says Surender Yadav, a local resident.
But not all of Siwan buys the argument. Businessman Nasre Alam says Shahabuddin ‘se hee Siwan ko nahi jaana jaata’, which loosely translates to ‘Siwan’s identity is not limited to Shahabuddin’.
“Rajendra Prasad was from Siwan. Many freedom fighters are from Siwan. Siwan ki dharti ne ache ache logo bhi diye hai. Iss dharti ko sirf Shahabuddin ke nama se nahi jaante hai. Wo beete kal ki baat hai. Wo toh duniya se chale gaye—baat khatam ho gayi (Siwan has also produced some gentlemen too. This land is not limited to the identity of Shahabuddin. It’s behind us, and the matter is over after his death),” he explains.
Prasad, the country’s first president, was born in Siwan’s Ziradei village.
However, there is no dearth of those who saw good in the reign of Shahabuddin and cannot overlook their perspectives. “People only remember the negative image,” Anwar says, sipping from his glass of chai.
“The image they portray of him appears negative to the public. At the ground level, while Shahabuddin was the MP from Siwan, boundaries were built for medical colleges and engineering colleges in Siwan, and the education system was improved.”
“But no one talks about that; they talk about Shahabuddin doing this and that,” Anwar says, highlighting the criminal past of bahubalis (strongmen) Anant Singh and Anand Mohan. Anant Singh and Anand Mohan’s son Chetan Anand are JD(U) candidates.
Anwar is also looking at Osama with a different and a fresh outlook. Osama, he says, represents something different for the youth and should be judged on his own merits. “London se law kiya hai. Yuvao ke liye ek ummid hai (He did his law from London. He is a hope for the youths).”
ThePrint reached out to Osama to know his vision for the constituency, but the poll debutant said “mai interview nahi deta (I don’t give interview)”.
As ThePrint reached Shanti Nagar in search of Osama’s residence, not many can help until the name Shahbuddin’s son is mentioned. “Aisa kahiye na Shahabuddin ka ghar…bas thodi door pai hai door se dikha jayega (You should have told Shahabuddin’s house. It is just a little away and you will see it from afar),” says an octogenarian pulling a fruit cart.
His words ring true in many parts of the constituency where Osama’s identity is closely tied with the ‘legacy’ of his four-time MP father.
Sanjeev, an unemployed youth standing near a pan shop in the busy lane of Anand, says that while he has not heard of Osama, he remembers the tales of Shahabuddin. “Maine sirf Sahabuddin ka naam suna hai. Unki wife ko jaante hai bete ko nahi. Jab wo the toh log kehte hai market mai sab acha chal raha tha (I have only heard about Shahabuddin. I know his wife, not the son. People say that the market was thriving when he was around),” he recollects.
Shiv Kumar Pathak, a priest, remembers the days of Sahabuddin but says that era is now over, and they are focused on development only.
Danish Raza, a student, says the chatter on the ground is much different from what is being spread about Osama. “We have a youth who is trying his luck and we should judge him for that. If it is a matter of image there are so many politicians who have so many cases against them and they also contest elections,” he explains.
For others, nostalgia borders on unease. Santosh Kumar Tiwari, a priest, is wary of how the election is being fought in the memory of Shahabuddin and says it sends out a wrong signal.
“We remember that time, poora jungle raj tha. Wo waapis nahi aana chaiye (It was jugleraj, It shouldn’t return),” he says. “Vikas hona chaiye aur kisi jo jeena mai takleef nahi honi chaiye. Nitish Kumar ne vikas kiya hai (There should be development, and nobody should be at unease. Nitish Kumar has brought development).”
Another local resident Shiv Kumar Pathak says he is only going to vote on the agenda of development. “Humko sirf shanti aur vikas chaiye.. Jo vikas karega usko hum matdaan karenge. (All we want is peace and development. Our vote will go to whoever ushers in development).”
Pan shop owner Sanjay Kumar agrees with Tiwari even as he highlights unemployment as a big issue in the constituency. “Sarkar ne kaam toh kiya hai lekin uss raftaar se nahi kiya hai (Government has worked but not swiftly),” he quips.
Shyam Prasad, an unemployed youth, says Osama has his own identity, and he represents the youth. “Bete ki apni alag chavi hai. Chunav apne ksethra mai lad rahein hai. Unka apna mudda hai. Sabko haq hai election ladne ka (The son has a different image; he is contesting in his area. He has his own issues. Everyone has the right to contest the polls),” he explains.
The aura of Shahabuddin is not lost on RJD either, and hence, the party welcomed both his wife and son back into the party fold in October last year, months after the Lok Sabha election proved disastrous for the party.
Shahabuddin’s wife Hina Shahab contested independently against JD(U)’s Vijaylakshmi Devi, wife of another regional strongman Ramesh Singh Kushwaha, and RJD’s Avadh Vihari Chaudhary.
Her candidature was not enough to stop the JD(U) from winning, but it was strong enough to erode the RJD’s voter base. Chaudhary was pushed into irrelevance in third position as Hina secured nearly three lakh votes, believed to have drawn a significant chunk from the RJD’s traditional voter base.
Hina says their vision is clear to focus on education and job opportunities. “Our aim is clear that the present government is not talking about concerns of the youth and that they don’t talk about job opportunities for them. We are raising such issues,” she tells ThePrint.
Although the RJD does not attribute this specific reason to the return of Shahabuddin’s family into the party, the reason is not lost on political analysts.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary sees a political “homecoming” for the Shahabuddin family after Hina Shahab contested the last Lok Sabha elections independently. As Osama goes campaigning from one place to another, he is mainly accompanied by RJD’s sitting MLA Harishankar Yadav.
Both Tiwary and Yadav attribute Osama’s elevation to his winnability and the strong sentiment in favour of Shahabuddin’s legacy.
“Tejashwi ji had discussed with me about my plans and preparations to contest the election this time as well, but I came forward and said that there were intense demands from the public that Osama should get the RJD symbol in my place. I have no doubt whatsoever that Osama will win by a huge margin and will carry forward his father’s political legacy,” Yadav tells ThePrint.
The memory and history of Shahabuddin have given enough ammunition to the NDA to target the RJD and the ‘jungle raj’. At a rally in Saran district last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, ‘Osama ko nahi jeetne denge, Shahabuddin ki vichaardhara ko nahi jeetne denge (Won’t allow Osama to win, same goes for Shahabuddin’s thinking)’. He was joined by Yogi Adityanath, who, at a rally, targeted the RJD for fielding Osama.
The BJP’s election narrative juxtaposes development and Shahabuddin who it says represented the ‘jungle raj’. Ahead of the rally in Siwan, several bulldozers were parked at the meeting venue even before Yogi came on the stage, a symbolism of his tough stance against the mafia in Uttar Pradesh.
The RJD has especially been focusing on the youth and the lack of educational and job opportunities for them.
“Osama sahab UK se padhai karke aaye hai, youth ki aspirations samajhte hai. (Osama has studied in the UK, knows the aspirations of the youth) Whatever development happened in Siwan was 20 years back and for the past 20 years, the BJP has been winning and they have deliberately not done development for the region. The sitting RJD MLA did all he could but when one is not in power it is difficult and the funds are limited,” says RJD district president Adnan Ahmad Siddiqui.
Osama’s affidavit on the Election Commission website, however, makes no mention of the law degree. His wife, it shows, has done MBBS.
When asked about Shahabuddin’s past, Siddiqui says Osama is deliberately being targeted. “Osama pe koi allegation hai kya? Mokama mai dekhiye NDA candidate pe murder charge hae (What is the allegation? Look at the NDA’s Mokama candidate who faces murder case),” he added.
An ally of the Mahagatbandhan, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has supported Osama’s candidature. However, he did distinguish Osama and his father.
“I don’t think it (Osama’s nomination) should be bracketed with Shahabuddin… Shahabuddin, obviously, had his own criminal record, and we fought against him after Chandrashekhar’s assassination. And he went to jail. He’s no more. Chandrashekhar and all the victims of terror in Bihar, I think, got their justice,” he said.
CPI(ML) activist and former JNU Students’ Union president Chandrashekhar was murdered in Siwan in 1997. At the time, the Left party had accused Shahabuddin of being involved in the murder, but the strongman was not named in the charge sheet. Four men were convicted of the assassination in 2012.
“Here is a new man, Osama. I don’t think it’s fair to bracket everybody together. Osama will be judged on his own merit,” Bhattacharya says.
But history shows ominous signs for the Shahabuddin family. Sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and murder of CPI(ML) worker Chhote Lal Gupta in 2007 and thereby disqualified to contest elections, Shahbuddin adopted the tried-and-tested approach of fielding wife to stay relevant.
He fielded Hina from Siwan in the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, but only to see his political legacy nosedive each time. Hina was first defeated by an Independent, Om Prakash Yadav, in 2009. There is a lore that Shahabuddin and his men once assaulted Yadav in Siwan during his heydays. Yadav further strengthened his comeback at the expense of Shahabuddin’s legacy by defeating Hina again in 2014 by a margin of 1 lakh-plus votes.
(Edited by Tony Rai)