An analysis of the Mahagathbandhan’s list of candidates shows that despite its campaign for proportionate representation for disadvantaged castes, almost 40% of the candidates fielded by the Congress belong to upper castes. At 5 of 61, women make up 8.2% of its list.
The RJD is contesting 142 seats in the Mahagathbandhan, with 61 seats for the Congress, 20 for the CPI (M-L) L, 10 for the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), 9 for the CPI, 4 for the CPI(M), and 2 for the debutant Indian Inclusive Party (IIP). For three candidates – two from the VIP and one from RJD – the nomination papers were rejected.
In total, the alliance has 251 candidates in the fray, including 3 seats without an alliance candidate and 11 that are set to witness friendly fights between the allies.
Caste numbers
Despite the push by the Congress, led by Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, for proportionate representation to the backward, the party has given the most tickets to upper caste candidates.
Out of the 61 Congress candidates, 24, or nearly 40%, are from upper castes – including 8 Brahmin and Bhumihar candidates each, 5 Rajputs, 2 Baniyas and 1 Kayastha.
The party has given 4 tickets to Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), making up 7.4% of its total, and 5 to OBCs (9.2%). Among the 4 EBC candidates. All its 5 OBC candidates are Yadavs (9.3%).
In the RJD’s list of 142, 75 or 52% are OBCs. Of the 75, 51 are Yadavs (20.3% of its total list), while 13 tickets have gone to Kushwahas, with the remaining 11 from other OBC groups including Kurmis, Koeris and Mallahs. The party has 16 upper castes (11.2% of its total) in its candidate list, and 11 EBCs (7.7%).
As per the 2022-23 state caste survey, EBCs make up 36.01% of the state population, and OBCs an additional 27.13%. Dalits account for 19.65% and STs comprise 1.68%.
The RJD is contesting 15 SC constituencies, and 1 reserved for STs. Among the SC candidates, are 4 each from the Ravidas, Pasi and Mushahar communities, 2 Paswans and 1 Choupal Dalit.
The Congress is contesting 10 SC-reserved seats, including 6 from the Ravidas community, 2 from the Dhobi community, and 1 each from the Paswan and Pasi groups.
While the NDA has fielded only 5 Muslims, the Mahagathbandhan has put up 31, or 12.35% of its total of 251. Of them, 19 have been fielded by the RJD, 10 by the Congress and 2 by the CPI (M-L) L.
The Muslim community makes up 17.7% of Bihar’s 13.07 crore population, according to the 2022-23 state caste survey. Based on this proportion of Muslims in Bihar, the community should have bagged 44 tickets.
Women
Women have also been under-represented in the Mahagathbandhan list. The RJD has 23 women in its list of 143 (16%), while the Congress has 5 among its 61 candidates (8.2%). Among the Left parties, the CPI(M-L) L has fielded 1 woman (5%) among its list of 20, while the CPI(M) and CPI have not fielded any women. The VIP has fielded 1 woman in the 12 seats it is contesting.
Average age & education
The average Mahagathbandhan candidate is 51 years old. Its youngest candidate is 25-year-old Navin Kumar, who is contesting for the Congress from the Bathnaha seat in Sitamarhi district, and the oldest is Awadh Bihari Choudhary, 78, fielded from Siwan on an RJD ticket.
While the average age of the RJD and Congress’s candidates is 51 years, the average age of VIP’s candidates is 45 years. The Left’s candidates are slightly older – the average age of CPI (M-L) L and CPI(M)’s candidates is 52, and the CPI’s is 57.
While 41 Mahagathbandhan candidates (16.3% of the total) have postgraduate degrees, 105 (41.8%) are graduates. A total of 48 candidates (19.1%) have passed Class 12, while 23 have passed Class 10 (9,2%). There are 15 candidates with PhDs (5.97%), and 2 with MPhil degrees. There are 6 candidates with education below Class 10, while 7 have listed themselves as “literate” in their affidavits. The alliance has also fielded 3 doctors.
While 184 candidates in the Mahagathbandhan come from rural backgrounds, 70 hail from urban areas.
Criminal background
Among the RJD’s 143 candidates, 88 (or 61%) are facing pending criminal cases. In the Congress, 40 (65.5%) candidates have criminal cases. While half the VIP’s 12 candidates face criminal cases, 5 (56%) of the CPI’s 9 candidates face pending cases. All 4 CPI(M) and both IIP candidates also face criminal cases.
The highest number of cases against a single alliance candidate are faced by Dewa Gupta of the RJD, contesting from Motihari, at 28 pending cases. The Mahagathbandhan’s chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav, who is contesting from Raghopur, has the second-highest number of pending cases at 18, as does the CPI(M-L)L’s Amarjeet Kushwaha, who has been fielded from Ziradei.