Bihar’s Siwan braces for old ‘gang’ names and an old rivalry, with Shahabuddin at its heart

Paswan is an state of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) successful Bihar, and is seeking to beryllium his worthy astatine a clip erstwhile spouse JD(U) and Nitish Kumar are seen to beryllium connected the wane.

The Khan brothers look execution and dacoity charges, among others. LJP (RV) spokesperson Vinit Singh played this down, telling The Indian Express: “They person not been convicted. We cannot spell by perception. Let the courts decide. They person been successful nationalist beingness for a while… They volition adhd to the party’s spot successful Siwan.”

Singh added that the brothers joined the LJP (RV) drawn to “the party’s principles and our person Chirag Paswan’s slogan of Bihar first, Bihari first”.

Siwan’s don

Shahabuddin’s uncontested tally successful Siwan lasted from aboriginal 1990s till 2009. After winning arsenic an Independent from Ziradei successful the 1990 Assembly polls, helium retained the spot arsenic a Janata Dal nominee successful 1995. From 1996 till 2004, helium contested lone Lok Sabha polls, and was mostly successful the RJD.

In 2007, Shahabuddin was convicted successful a kidnapping and execution lawsuit and barred from contesting elections. Finally, his clasp connected the Siwan Lok Sabha spot was broken, and Om Prakash Yadav won it arsenic an Independent successful 2009. He retained it 5 years aboriginal arsenic a BJP nominee.

Among those Yadav defeated was Shahabuddin’s woman Hina Shahab, who went connected to contention 3 much Lok Sabha contests from Siwan without success. While she was an RJD nominee 3 of those times, successful 2024, she contested arsenic an Independent aft failing to get the enactment ticket.

In 2021, Shahabuddin passed distant successful Delhi’s Tihar Jail portion serving a beingness condemnation for kidnapping and murder.

In 2019 and 2014, the winners from the Siwan parliamentary spot were the JD(U)’s Kavita Singh and Vijaylakshmi Devi, respectively. The JD(U) was an state of the BJP some the times.

At the lawsuit wherever they joined the LJP (RV) connected January 15, the Khan brothers showered praise connected Chirag, calling him the “young, emerging leader” of Bihar. Rayees hailed Chirag’s slogan of “Bihar first, Bihari first”. Chirag said helium hoped the 2 would assistance fortify the enactment successful Siwan.

LJP (RV) sources said that the enactment volition propulsion for an Assembly canvass summons from Siwan, Raghunathpur oregon Barhara for Rayees, who has immoderate electoral acquisition having contested the 2022 Legislative Council polls, which helium mislaid to the RJD. During the campaign, Rayees had lodged a lawsuit against Shahabuddin’s lad Osama, accusing the second of firing astatine his vehicle.

Sources said that the Khans archetypal explored joining the JD(U), but the enactment enactment – wary of the charges against them, contrary to the Nitish government’s representation of “being strict connected instrumentality and order” – was not interested.

Rayees confirmed this astatine the January 15 event, saying: “We had superior talks with the JD(U), but it did not enactment out. Maybe the apical enactment was against it.”

Sources successful Siwan said the determination to induct the Khans volition assistance the LJP (RV). “The brothers person been hopeless to make a governmental abstraction for themselves aft Shahabuddin’s household mislaid the Siwan turf. They person sizeable power among chap Muslims,” said a source.

The Shahabuddin rivalry

The brothers’ relation with Shahabuddin had lasted astir 10 years, from the mid-1990s till 2005. The governmental ambitions they developed during this clip arsenic Shahabuddin made a palmy foray into the tract yet led to their fallout.

Sources said that aft Shahabuddin turned down the petition of the Khan brothers for an RJD summons from Raghunathpur for their begetter successful the October 2005 Assembly polls – arsenic helium had already decided connected a enactment campaigner – they rebelled.

Khan Senior past filed information arsenic an Independent, and portion helium did not win, his beingness divided the ballot and the JD(U)’s Jagmato Devi won from Raghunathpur. It was seen arsenic a nonaccomplishment of look for Shahabuddin.

After Nitish Kumar became the CM for the archetypal clip successful November 2005, Shahabuddin’s power successful Siwan and authorities authorities took a blow. The Nitish authorities initiated speedy trials successful cases against Shahabuddin. Between 2007 and 2010, helium was convicted successful implicit half-a-dozen transgression cases. While helium managed to unafraid a summons for Hina from Siwan successful 2009, her nonaccomplishment to an Independent was the archetypal telling motion that Shahabuddin’s clasp successful the country was fading.

Her streak of canvass losses from the seat, to some the BJP and JD(U), were further blows to the don’s clout.

After her nonaccomplishment successful the Lok Sabha polls past year, Hina returned to the RJD, accompanied by lad Osama.

Many expect the RJD to tract Osama from Siwan. If the LJP (RV) gets an Assembly spot successful Siwan connected the NDA ticket, determination could beryllium a repetition of the Shahabuddin vs Khan rivalry by proxy.

Of the Assembly constituencies falling nether Siwan, Raghunathpur is presently represented by Harishankar Yadav and Siwan by Awadh Bihari Choudhary, some of the RJD.

Siwan now

Many consciousness that Hina’s successive canvass losses is simply a motion that Siwan has turned a page, and that the Khan brothers’ relation with Shahabuddin oregon the NDA volition not beryllium enough.

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said: “There is small scope for the Khan brothers successful Siwan politics… which inactive has a batch to connection to the Shahabuddin family. Hina contested the past Lok Sabha polls arsenic an Independent and yet emerged the runner-up.”

A 2012 study of the CID, Bihar Police, lists implicit 2 twelve cases against Rayees, including murder, dacoity, ransom and kidnapping, successful Bihar, UP and Odisha. In the affidavit helium filed for the 2022 MLC polls, Rayees listed 12 transgression cases, including of execution and extortion.

Ayub besides faces implicit a twelve cases, including of murder, extortion and nether the Arms Act. In 2022, the Siwan constabulary held him successful transportation with a triple execution case. He is retired connected bail successful the case.