Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 | Dad, son & ex-deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad in Katihar’s VIP fight

In Seemanchal showdown, BJP veteran Tarkishore Prasad faces an unexpected challenger — his longtime aide’s son

Katihar: For more reasons than one, Katihar, in the Seemanchal region of Bihar bordering West Bengal, has become a VIP seat in the 2025 elections.

Not just because the BJP has fielded one of its seniormost leaders and former deputy chief minister, Tarkishore Prasad, from here.

Prasad, a four-time MLA from Katihar, thought the going would be as smooth as the last time since the seat was being allocated by the I.N.D.I.A. bloc to Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), though this has been a traditional Congress-RJD stronghold.

He was, however, in for a rude shock when the VIP announced its candidate: Saurabh Agarwal.

Saurabh is the son of Ashok Agarwal, a BJP Member of the State Legislative Council. A local strongman, Agarwal is said to be closely involved in managing the saffron party’s resources in the state. In Katihar, for decades now, he has been a close aide of Tarkishore, canvassing and overseeing the former deputy CM’s campaign since 2010. His hold over the district politics can be gauged from the fact that he was able to get his wife elected as the mayor of Katihar in 2022.

“My son is an adult and hence free to make his decisions. But I will continue to execute the responsibilities given to me by the party,” Ashok Agarwal told local media after his son got a VIP ticket.

“Agarwal senior knows the ins and outs of Tarkishore’s election strategy. That obviously makes the latter a little jittery,” says VK Thakur, a senior journalist who now lives in Katihar.

In fact, BJP MP from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey met Agarwal after Saurabh filed nomination papers as the VIP candidate. “Ashok Agarwal is a BJP MLC. He told me that he remains with the party and will do whatever he can for the party.”

“It is unfortunate that his son is contesting the elections. That’s all I can say. We have never in life run after positions; we only execute the work allocated to the best of our ability,” Tarkishore Prasad said when DH caught up with him during the campaign.

Katihar district has a substantial Muslim population, one of the highest in Bihar. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the seat was won by senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar by over 40,000 votes. Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan is also an MLA from Kadva, an adjoining constituency.

Jan Suraaj has fielded Ghazi Sharique from the Katihar seat. A strong performance by Prashant Kishor’s party in Muslim-dominated areas could split the I.N.D.I.A. bloc votes to the BJP’s advantage.

Voting in Katihar will be held in the second phase of the Bihar elections on November 11.