Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Amidst the excitement surrounding the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, the Barauli Assembly seat in Gopalganj, Lalu Prasad Yadav's home district, is once again in the spotlight. This general category seat falls under the Gopalganj Lok Sabha constituency and has had a tumultuous political history, with the BJP now dominating after the Congress.
Geographically, the Barauli seat is located approximately 15 kilometers southeast of Gopalganj city. The lack of employment opportunities for local youth remains a major challenge, which could become a key issue in the elections.
Political climate changed with the beginning of the 21st century
The Barauli Assembly has experienced 17 elections so far. In the early decades, the Congress had a strong dominance here, winning seven times. Former Bihar Chief Minister Abdul Gafur represented this seat four times. However, with the beginning of the 21st century, the political climate changed. The BJP has won five of the six elections held since 2000, reflecting its strong hold in the region.
BJP's Rampravesh Rai won from here several times
BJP's Rampravesh Rai won from here several times. However, in 2015, RJD's Mohammad Nematullah wrested the seat from the BJP, but this victory was short-lived. In the 2020 assembly elections, BJP's Rampravesh Rai made a strong comeback by defeating RJD's Riazul Haq, also known as Raju, by a margin of 14,155 votes. Rai is the sitting MLA from this seat.
Upper caste voters play a decisive role
Barauli's politics has always been based on caste equations, making every election a triangular and close contest. Upper caste voters (Bhumihars, Brahmins, and Rajputs) play a decisive role here, while Yadav and Muslim voters are considered the traditional and strong base of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). According to 2020 data, there were a total of 300,044 registered voters here. Of these, Muslim voters comprised approximately 14.73% (44,218) and Scheduled Caste (SC) voters 12.22% (36,665).
Public sentiment currently appears to be strongly in favor of NDA
By the 2024 general elections, the total number of voters has increased to 314,892. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Dr. Alok Kumar Suman of the JDU secured a big lead of 28,763 votes over the RJD candidate from the Barauli assembly constituency, indicating that public sentiment currently appears to be strongly in favor of the NDA.
There will be a fight to regain lost prestige.
In the 2025 assembly elections, the main contest for the Barauli seat is likely to be again between the BJP and the RJD. While the BJP will seek to consolidate its stronghold and replicate its 2024 Lok Sabha election performance, for the RJD, this seat will be a battle to regain lost ground in Lalu Prasad Yadav's home district.
The RJD will need to employ a strategy to leverage the Muslim-Yadav equation, as well as local issues and the agrarian crisis to garner upper-caste votes. The people of Barauli will determine whether the lotus will continue to bloom in this "Lalu stronghold" or whether the RJD will make a comeback.