Bhagalpur (Bihar) Election 2019: RJD MP Shailesh Kumar Mandal seeks second term in Lok Sabha

Patna: The Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency went to the polls in the second phase of the 2019 general elections on April 18. The seat saw a tough poll contest between sitting Member of Parliament Shailesh Kumar Mandal, alias Bulo Mandal, of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Ajay Kumar Mandal of the Janata Dal (United).

Mohammad Ashiq Ibrahimi of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Satyendra Kumar of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar.
 
The Bhagalpur Parliamentary seat comprises six Assembly seats namely Bihpur, Gopalpur, Pirpainti (SC), Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur, Nathnagar. Out of these six, Pirpainti seat is reserved for the candidates belonging to Scheduled caste category.
 
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bhagalpur recorded a voter turnout of 57.79 per cent. Shailesh Kumar Mandal of the RJD secured 3,67,623 (37.74 per cent) votes. He won by a margin of 9,485 votes defeating BJP’s Syed Shahnawaz Hussain who secured 3,58,138 (36.77 per cent) votes. Bhagalpur had 16,85,339 electors in 2014 – 8,95,185 men and 7,90,154 women.

 
In 2009 general elections, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain won the Bhagalpur seat. He defeated RJD candidate Shakuni Choudhary. 
 
Congress’ Bhagwat Jha Azad, former Bihar chief minister, has held the Bhagalpur seats five times.
 
Five of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies of Bihar went to polls on April 18. The results for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies which went to polls in seven phases will be declared on May 23.