Patna: In a significant move to consolidate its base, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad, in the presence of his son and heir apparent Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, has allocated the Raghunathpur Assembly seat to Osama Shahab, the son of the late four-time Siwan MP, Mohammad Shahabuddin.
The decision formalizes the return of the powerful Shahabuddin family into the party’s electoral structure, despite the controversial legacy of the former MP, who died while serving a prison sentence.
The nomination was facilitated by the sitting RJD MLA for Raghunathpur, Harishankar Yadav, a long-time loyalist of the Shahabuddin family. Harishankar Yadav, who secured the RJD’s first victories in the constituency in both 2015 and 2020, announced he would step aside and lend his full support to Osama Shahab, citing Shahabuddin’s pivotal role in his own political journey.
The Dynamics of the Shahabuddin Family
The move comes after a period of electoral tension between the party and the family. Shahabuddin’s wife, Hina Shahab, recently contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Siwan as an independent candidate after the RJD fielded six-time MLA Awadh Bihari Chaudhary. Hina Shahab went on to win the seat, defeating the JD(U) candidate by over 93,000 votes, while the RJD’s Chaudhary was pushed to a distant third. Hina Shahab has since returned to the RJD, paving the way for her son Osama’s nomination, despite the fact that Osama currently faces several ongoing legal cases.
Mohammad Shahabuddin, known for his “Robin Hood” image and immense grassroots power, served two terms as an MLA from Jeeradei before becoming an MP from Siwan in 1996. Even after his conviction and subsequent incarceration, his family’s influence over the region has remained a critical factor in Bihar politics.
RJD Moves Ahead Despite Alliance Friction
The RJD’s decisive move to announce candidates, including Osama Shahab, comes at a time when the broader opposition coalition, the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan), has yet to finalize its crucial seat-sharing agreement.
Serious differences reportedly persist between core alliance partners, including the Congress, the RJD, the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), and the CPI-ML, over the mutual claims on several key constituencies and the overall seat allocation formula.
In the face of this alliance deadlock, Tejashwi Yadav’s party, along with the CPI-ML and the CPI, has unilaterally announced and provided symbols for seats where mutual claims do not overlap. Several RJD candidates, including Tejashwi Yadav himself, have already filed their nominations, signaling a determination to move forward with or without a formal alliance consensus.
