The last time a member of Mohammed Shahabuddin’s family won an election was 21 years ago. But in case of the late bahubali, only the name is enough. The RJD has proved that again by going with Shahabuddin’s son Osama Shahab as the party candidate from the Raghunathpur Assembly seat, after dropping its sitting MLA Hari Shanker Yadav.
While Shahabuddin’s name was associated with Siwan, his wife Heena Shahab has failed to win the Assembly or Lok Sabha seat since he was convicted in 2008 on several criminal cases and was disqualified from contesting. Raghunathpur, which also falls in Siwan district, is considered a “safer” seat for the 30-year-old Osama’s debut.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, even while contesting as an Independent from Siwan after being denied the RJD ticket, Heena had got 2.93 lakh votes. While she finished far behind JD(U) winner Vijaylakshmi Devi, who got 3.86 lakh votes, her votes ensured incumbent RJD Siwan MLA Awadh Bihar Choudhary was pushed to the third spot, with 1.98 lakh votes.
The RJD re-inducted her into the party along with Osama soon after.
Heena built her campaign around Siwan’s fondness for her late husband, who was feared for his criminal image but also loved by many for his largesse towards his constituents, and was a four-time MP from Siwan. “Main kisi dal mein nahi hoon, lekin aapke dil me hoon (I am not in any party, but I am in your hearts),” she told voters.
The RJD is counting on Raghunathpur’s substantial Yadav population, which has determined its results since the first elections of 1952, plus Muslim, EBC, Dalit and upper caste votes, thanks to allies CPI (M-L) Liberation and the Congress, to see Osama through.
Siwan, in contrast, has proved difficult for Heena to crack, and the RJD did not want to alienate Choudhary, who has in the past won several times from the seat, by choosing Osama as its candidate from there.
Shahabuddin had first become an MLA in 1990, winning from Ziradei in Siwan district as an Independent. This was a big win as the constituency was seen as a Congress stronghold, with significant influence of the CPI (M-L) – now CPI (M-L) Liberation. Shahabuddin’s victory had a lot to do with the backing he received from upper caste landlords, who were apprehensive of the rise of the Left forces. One of the cases in which Shahabudin was convicted, in fact, was the 2007 murder of CPI (M-L) activist Chhotelal Gupta.
Lalu Prasad, who became CM for the first time in 1990, noticed Shahabuddin’s potential and, in the 1995 Assembly polls, fielded him from Ziradei on his party Janata Dal’s ticket. Shahabuddin won again, proving Lalu’s trust in him.
An RJD leader says: “Lalu had started working on a Muslim-Yadav combination by the mid-1990s, and Shahabuddin fit the bill. He didn’t just win then but represented the Siwan Lok Sabha seat four times, until the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Despite his image as a feared strongman, he was able to create a constituency in sync with the RJD’s social formulations.”
In 2008, Shahabuddin was convicted in an attempted murder case, and could not contest the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. More convictions followed, on charges of murder and kidnapping, keeping him in jail and away from elections.
While Shahabuddin entrusted his political legacy to Heena, this period coincided with the rise of Nitish Kumar’s development politics combined with social realignment. Simultaneously, Bihar turned away from Lalu, whose government had come to be identified with a rise in crime and criminals. This new wave also swept a change into Siwan’s politics.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Independent Om Prakash Yadav won from Siwan, defeating Heena, the RJD candidate, and the JD(U)’s Brishen Patel. By 2014, Om Prakash had joined the BJP. He retained Siwan, riding the Narendra Modi wave, with Heena facing defeat again on the RJD ticket.
In 2019, Heena again tasted defeat, losing on the RJD ticket to the JD(U)’s Kavita Singh.
In 2021, while still in jail, Shahabuddin passed away after contracting Covid.
In 2024, denied a ticket by the RJD, which under Tejashwi Yadav was trying to shed its “jungle raj” image, Heena contested as an Independent. She lost to the JD(U)’s lesser-known Vijaylakshmi Devi, but pushed the RJD to the third spot – which is what prompted the party to go back to Heena.
The Mahagathbandhan, which won five of the seven Assembly segments falling under the Siwan Lok Sabha seat in 2020, is hoping that the Shahabuddin factor will help it repeat – if not better – that performance.
Ironically, the Left parties whom Shahabuddin fought against during his prime are now the staunchest allies of the RJD. In 2020, the CPI (M-L) L won two of the Siwan seats (Ziradei and Darauli) as a Mahagathbandhan member. On Wednesday, in reaction to the RJD fielding Osama, the CPI (M-L) L said it did not have any dispute with Shahabuddin’s family.
Osama, who studied law in London, returned to India following the death of Shahabuddin. Heena, family sources say, was only too happy to pass on the reins to her son after three consecutive defeats.
The 30-year-old has also had his share of controversies. Last year, he spent three months in jail over two land dispute cases.