A strange situation has developed for the Mahagathbandhan ('Grand Alliance') at the Gaura-Bauram Assembly constituency in Darbhanga district, where Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Afzal Ali Khan secured the ticket to contest, but in a last minute seat-sharing deal, the seat went to the kitty of an ally, the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).

Mr. Khan responded by refusing to comply with party chief Lalu Prasad's request to return the party symbol, and insisted on continuing as the RJD's candidate for Gaura-Baram, against the candidates of the VIP as well as the Opposition BJP.

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Confusion reigned over the "bizarre situation for voters", residents of the constituency told The Hindu.

"I am contesting the election on the RJD ticket, and seeking votes as a Mahagathbandhan candidate. I don't know about others. You go and ask the people of the constituency," Mr. Khan told this reporter over a phone call on October 23.

His social media handle continues to post on his campaign as a candidate supported by the Mahagathbandhan.

"I have not heard his name. I do not know him," Mr. Khan said, when asked about the VIP's candidate, Santosh Sahani, younger brother of party founder Mukesh Sahani, from the same seat.

"Have you heard that conversation between us?" Mr. Khan said, when asked if he hadn't been called by the RJD leadership to withdraw from the contest when the seat plan was finalised. "No one has asked me to return the ticket," he said.

"I am the real Mahagathbandhan candidate in the field, and I know no one else. The other parties' candidates are also in the fray, isn't it?" Mr. Khan said, when asked if voters would not be confused while choosing the Mahagathbandhan's candidate against the BJP's Sujit Kumar.

The Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), founded by former poll-strategist Prashant Kishor, has nominated Mohd Iftikhar Alam as its candidate for Gaura-Bauram, but voters this reporter spoke with said the contest was "only between Afzal Ali Khan (RJD) and Sujit Kumar (BJP)".

"The fight is only between the RJD candidate and the BJP candidate. The VIP has made a mistake by fielding Mukesh Sahani's brother Santosh Sahani against both the candidates. He will lose in this Brahmin and Muslim- dominated constituency," Prabhakar Kumar, 38, who runs a photocopying shop under a makeshift structure by a side of the road opposite to the Gaura-Bauram Block Development Office said.

Mr. Kumar, who hails from an Extremely Backward Class (EBC) community, declined to be photographed, and suggested a picture of the dilapidated Block Development Office could be taken instead. The office had some vehicles parked inside the compound with a lone policeman on duty snoozing on a stool at a distance.

"Even in my Muslim community, he doesn't stand any chance," Julus Miyan, from the adjacent shop, said of Mr. Alam, the JSP candidate. "I don't know why he is being fielded in the contest. There must be some larger political design behind his candidature," Mr. Miyan said.

The VIP's Mr. Sahani has stated his intention to move the court, seeking action against local election officials for not "dismissing the candidature of the RJD's Afzal Ali Khan even after [his] party chief Lalu Prasad requested him to withdraw".

In the 2020 Assembly election, Mr. Khan was defeated by over 7,000 votes by the then VIP candidate Swarna Singh who, in May 2022, joined BJP, along with two other VIP MLAs. Ms. Singh has not secured a ticket this time, with the BJP fielding Mr. Kumar as its candidate.

The Gaura-Bauram Assembly constituency was won by the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in the 2010 and 2015 Assembly elections.

Gaura-Bauram is situated on the situated on Darbhanga-Saharsa district border, about 45 km from Darbhanga town. The constituency is dominated by upper caste Brahmins, Muslim, Yadav, Mallah (Mr. Sahani hails from this community), and other EBC voters.

It falls under the Darbhanga Lok Sabha constituency, with three blocks (Guara-Bauram, Kiratpur, and Biraul), and 12 village panchayats. The Kamala river flows through the constituency and supports its largely agrarian economy.

"Distressed migration of local youths from the area is its biggest curse," sexagenarian voter Baburam Shah said. Mr. Shah owns a cloth shop on the Gaura-Bauram-Saharsa highway. "The BJP has an edge over other candidates in this constituency," he said.

Sources in the RJD said that when Mr. Khan did not return his party's symbol, Mr. Prasad wrote to the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer to "not consider" his nomination. However, Mr. Khan had by that time travelled to Gaura-Baram and filed his nomination papers on October 17. Mr. Khan subsequently went incommunicado. The Election Commission of India authorities told the RJD leadership that they could not "remove Afzal Ali Khan's nomination as he has already filed his nomination with proper documentation", sources said.

"It's confusion and chaos within the Mahagathbandhan, which has led to the bizarre situation in the constituency," an RJD leader said, adding, "How will our party leader and chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav campaign against the candidate contesting the election on his party's symbol? Yes, this confusion will definitely impact the result from this constituency."

"Afzal Ali Khan is a rebel candidate now," RJD MLC and national general secretary of the party's youth wing Qari Shohaib said, accusing Mr. Khan of "deceiving" the party, and adding, "We do not consider him the party's candidate."

Mr. Khan maintains otherwise. "I am the RJD candidate contesting the election and this is very clear," he said, campaigning in a "far remote area".

Similarly, the principal Mahagathbandhan alliance parties, the RJD and the Congress, are contesting against each other on five seats -- Sikandra, Vaishali, Narkatiyaganj, Kahalgaon, and Sultanganj. The Congress is contesting against candidates of the Communist Party of India (CPI) on four seats -- Biharsharief, Rajapakar, Bacchhwara, and Kargahar.

Under the Mahagathbandhan alliance, the RJD is contesting in 143 seats; the VIP in 15 seats, including Gaura-Bauram; the Congress in 61; and 33 seats are being contested by three Left parties -- Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-M-L) in 20, the Communist Party of India (CPI) in nine; and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in four.

The Mahagathbandhan is fielding 252 candidates for 243-member State Assembly, with a "friendly contest" in nine seats.

Polling for the Gaura-Bauram constituency is scheduled on November 6. The results for the Bihar Assembly election will be declared on November 14.

Bihar's Gaura-Bauram goes to VIP in last minute seat-sharing deal, RJD candidate refuses to withdraw