Bihar Elections 2025: JD(U) challenges RJD with fresh face in stronghold Madhepura

Madhepura (Bihar) [India], October 29 (ANI): With less than ten days remaining before the first phase of polling in the Bihar Assembly elections, the Madhepura Assembly constituency has emerged as one of the key battlegrounds to watch.
Located within the Madhepura Lok Sabha constituency, a political stronghold once represented by veteran leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sharad Yadav, this seat holds significant importance in the upcoming state polls.
The Madhepura seat has been a stronghold for the Rashtriya Janata Dal, as they have retained it since the previous three elections.
Chandra Shekhar, a three-time MLA from the seat, has been a controversial figure in Bihar politics. He has served as Minister of Disaster Management from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Sugarcane Industries from 2022 to 2024.
He also stirred controversy with his remarks on Ram Charit Manas during a Hindi Diwas event in 2023, which then heated up state politics. JDU, which was then an ally of the RJD, had distanced itself from the remarks; meanwhile, his party had defended his statement, citing it as a reflection of its ideology.
First elected in 2010, Chandra Shekhar defeated JD(U)'s Ramendra Kumar Yadav by a margin of 11,944 votes, polling 72,481 votes (47.29%). He consolidated his position in 2015, when he widened his victory margin to 37,642 votes, defeating BJP's Vijay Kumar, who secured 53,332 votes, against his 90,974. In 2020, he made it three consecutive wins, overcoming JD(U)'s Nikhil Mandal by 16,046 votes (81,116 vs 65,070).
In the 2025 elections, Chandra Shekhar Yadav once again contests under the RJD symbol as the Mahagathbandhan candidate. On the other side, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Kavita Kumari Saha from the JD(U).
Saha, who belongs to the Extremely Backward Class (EBC) community and holds a postgraduate degree in Sociology, had earlier made her political debut successfully as the Chairperson of the Madhepura Municipal Board.
Shashi Kumar, from the Jan Suraaj Party, is also in the election field against, Saha and Chandra Shekhar.
The 2025 Bihar elections will have the main contest between the National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagathbandhan.NDA includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
Mahagathbandhan, led by Rashtriya Janata Dal, includes Congress party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).
Additionally, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj has staked claims to all 243 seats in the state. The assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be declared on November 14. (ANI)