THREE GENERATIONS HAVE WON NINE OF 17 ELECTIONS FROM THE SHAHPUR ASSEMBLY SEAT

THREE GENERATIONS HAVE WON NINE OF 17 ELECTIONS FROM THE SHAHPUR ASSEMBLY SEAT

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RAJIV NAYN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------The Shahpur Assembly seat in Bhojpur district has been the traditional seat of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Shivanand Tiwari. His father, Pt. Ramanand Tiwari, won this seat five times. Currently, Shivanand Tiwari's son, Rahul Tiwari, is the MLA from here. This seat has a glorious history, including the seat where former Bihar Chief Minister Pt. Bindeshwari Dubey once served as MLA.

Bhojpur is one of Bihar's 38 districts. Bhojpur district is divided into three subdivisions and 14 blocks. The district has seven assembly seats: Sandesh, Barhara, Ara, Agiaon (SC), Tarari, Jagdishpur, and Shahpur. The Shahpur Assembly seat first held elections in 1952. Shahpur Assembly seat – 1952 to 1969: Ramanand Tiwari won five elections.

First victory: In the 1952 assembly elections, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari of the Socialist Party won the Shahpur seat. This winning streak continued for five elections, although he kept changing parties. In the 1952 election, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari defeated Harigovind Mishra of the Congress by just 333 votes. Pandit Ramanand Tiwari received a total of 5,755 votes, while Harigovind Mishra received 5,422 votes.

Second victory: In the 1957 assembly elections, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari contested from the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) and won. He defeated Ramashankar Pandey of the Congress by 3,956 votes. Pandit Ramanand Tiwari received a total of 12,452 votes, while Ramashankar received 8,496 votes.

Third victory: In the 1962 assembly elections, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari once again contested from the Praja Socialist Party. In this election, he once again defeated Hari Govind of the Congress. He defeated Hari Govind by 7,646 votes. Pandit Ramanand Tiwari received a total of 21,974 votes, while Hari Govind had to settle for 14,328 votes.

Fourth victory: In the 1967 assembly elections, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari contested from the Samyukta Socialist Party (Sansopa). In this election, he defeated RP Singh of the Congress by 7,766 votes. Ramanand received a total of 25,064 votes, and RP Singh received 17,298 votes.

Fifth victory: In the 1969 elections, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari of the Sansopa won by 17,999 votes. He received a total of 26,371 votes. Meanwhile, Sarju Prasad Upadhyay of the Congress came in second. He received a total of 8,372 votes. Pt. Ramanand Tiwari served as the Home Minister of Bihar while being the MLA from Shahpur.

1972: Congress wins its first victory: Congress wins the Shahpur seat in the 1972 assembly elections. In this election, Congress candidate Suraj Nath Choubey defeated five-time MLA Pt. Ramanand Tiwari by 8,779 votes. Choubey received a total of 22,868 votes, while Pt. Ramanand Tiwari had to settle for 14,089 votes.

1977: Janata Party wins: Janata Party candidate Jai Narayan Mishra won the 1977 assembly elections. He defeated independent candidate Ram Pyare Yadav by 9,962 votes. Jai Narayan received a total of 21,056 votes, while Ram Pyare received 11,094 votes.

1980: Anand Sharma wins: In the 1980 assembly elections, Anand Sharma of Congress (I) won the Shahpur seat. He defeated Haridev Rai of Congress (U) by 3,784 votes. Anand received a total of 15,207 votes, while Haridev received 11,423 votes.

1985: Vindeshwari Dubey wins: In the 1985 assembly elections, Pandit Vindeshwari Dubey of Congress won the Shahpur seat. Shivanand Tiwari, son of Shahpur's first MLA, Pandit Ramanand Tiwari, contested from the Jan Sangh. Pandit Vindeshwari Dubey defeated Shivanand by 29,680 votes. Vindeshwari Dubey received a total of 42,766 votes, while Shivanand received 13,086 votes.

Pt. Vindeshwari Dubey became the Chief Minister of Bihar while serving as the MLA from Shahpur. He served as Chief Minister from March 1985 to February 1988. Before becoming an MLA from Shahpur, Vindeshwari was a Member of Parliament from Giridih (now Jharkhand). Vindeshwari Dubey also held several ministries in the Bihar government.

1990: Janata Party wins second term: Janata Party candidate Dharampal Singh won the Shahpur seat in the 1990 assembly elections. Dharampal's winning streak continued in the 1995 elections, but he switched parties. In the 1990 elections, Dharampal Singh defeated independent candidate Shivanand Tiwari by just 455 votes. Dharampal received a total of 20,422 votes, while Shivanand received 19,967 votes.

In the 1995 elections, Dharampal Singh's victory margin increased. He contested this election from the Janata Dal. In the 1995 elections, he defeated Shivanand Tiwari of the Samata Party by 16,895 votes. Dharampal Singh received a total of 37,139 votes, while Shivanand had to settle for 20,444 votes.

2000: First victory with RJD: Shivanand Tiwari, who had faced defeat in three consecutive elections, won his first victory on an RJD ticket in 2000. Shivanand also won on an RJD ticket in February 2005, defeating Dharampal Singh in both elections. In the 2000 election, RJD's Shivanand defeated Dharampal by 21,632 votes. Shivanand received a total of 60,807 votes, while Dharampal received only 39,175 votes. Dharampal contested this election from the Samata Party.

2005 February: Victory against Dharampal: Bihar held two elections in 2005, the first in February and the second in October. Shivanand won the first election by 9,982 votes, while Dharampal, contesting on a LJP ticket, came in second. Shivanand received 36,085 votes, and Dharampal received 26,103 votes.

October 2005: BJP opens its account : In October 2005, the BJP won Shahpur for the first time, and the party's Munni Devi became the MLA. Munni Devi defeated two-time MLA Shivanand Tiwari by 2,807 votes. Munni Devi received a total of 34,121 votes, and Shivanand Tiwari received 31,314 votes.

2010: BJP retains seat: In 2010, BJP's Munni Devi won again. This time, she defeated former MLA Dharampal Singh by 8,211 votes. Dharampal contested this election from the RJD. Munni Devi received a total of 44,795 votes, while Dharampal had to settle for 36,584 votes.

2015: Rahul Tiwari wins: In the 2015 elections, Rahul Tiwari, grandson of Ramanand Tiwari and son of Shivanand Tiwari, won. Rahul won on an RJD ticket. In this election, Rahul defeated BJP's Visheshwar Ojha by 14,570 votes. Rahul received a total of 69,315 votes, while Visheshwar received 54,745 votes.

2020: Shivanand's son wins the seat for the second consecutive time: After this, he won the 2020 election as well. Rahul won by 22,883 votes. Independent candidate Shobha Devi came in second. Rahul received a total of 64,393 votes, while Shobha received 41,510 votes. With this, BJP came in third in this election.