Lotus may bloom in parts of Madhubani

In 2010, the most prominent slogan in this Madhubani belt was “Ek button dabaiye, do Nitish paiye” (Press one button and get two Nitish).

The punch-line referred to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD(U) nominee from Jhanjharpur, Nitish Mishra.

Five years down the line, Nitish Mishra, the younger son of former Bihar Chief Minister Dr Jagannath Mishra, has now changed colours and crossed over to join the BJP.

In fact, till two months ago, he was one of the key strategists in Jitan Ram Manjhi’s camp and worked meticulously to bring Manjhi’s outfit Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) under the NDA fold.

It was only at the fag end of the seat-sharing talks that he, reportedly with the approval of Manjhi, joined the saffron camp which his father, a three-term Congress chief minister, fought tooth and nail.But more than the party, it’s Mishras who count more in this part of Madhubani, which shares its border with Nepal.

Locals say that even before Nitish Mishra was born, it was his father Jagannath Mishra who won from here in 1972, followed by successive wins in 1977, 1980, 1985 and 1990. “Even during post-emergency election, Jagannath Mishra had won from here,” H K Verma, senior Congress leader, told Deccan Herald.

The legacy is now being carried forward by his son, who is a post-graduate in global political economy from the University of Hull, United Kingdom. The junior Mishra, who won from here in February 2005, November 2005 and then again in November 2010, has served under Nitish and Manjhi governments as sugarcane, disaster management and rural development minister.

Contesting for the fourth term from a constituency which has 20 per cent Brahmins, 13 per cent Muslims and nearly 10 pc Dalits, Mishra insists he has done a lot of development work here which includes sinking of tubewells, installation of transformers and construction of rural roads.

However, one thing which has remained unchanged since the British period is the bridge over Kamla river, which connects Jhanjharpur with Madhubani. It is arguably the only bridge in the country where both the train and motor-vehicles traverse through the same route.

“It’s in a dilapidated condition but a new bridge is being constructed adjacent to it,” says Mishra, who is pitted against RJD candidate Gulab Yadav, a relatively rookie politician.

Benipatti contest
Another important Assembly constituency which comes under the Madhubani Lok Sabha seat is Benipatti, represented by BJP spokesperson Vinod Narain Jha.

Jha had won from here in 2010, defeating LJP candidate Mahesh Chandra Singh by a margin of over 12,000 votes. But with the LJP and the BJP under the same NDA umbrella, Jha is now locked in a keen contest with Bhavna Jha of the Congress.

Bhavna is daughter of Yogehswar Jha, a veteran Congress leader who represented Benipatti for four times since 1980 and was a minister in Jagannath Mishra’s cabinet.