In the Saran Lok Sabha seat, Rohini Acharya is up against Laloo Prasad Yadav. RJP candidate Yadav was resolute despite the income gap. ‘Dharti pakad’ and similar labels don’t stop him.
The RJD chairman Lalu Prasad’s daughter, Rohini Acharya, is up against an unexpected obstacle in her attempt to recapture the Saran Lok Sabha seat that her father once held. The opponent is a local farmer from Saran district named Laloo Prasad Yadav, who is the leader of the socialist party. This candidate bearing his name has previously run in several elections.
On April 26, farmer Laloo Prasad Yadav submitted his nomination papers to run for the Saran Lok Sabha seat on behalf of the Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party (RJP).
He had previously submitted nominations for the presidential elections of 2022 and 2017, however, his papers for the latter were turned down because not enough proposers signed the necessary form. The former governor of Bihar, Ram Nath Kovind, and the native speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, competed in the 2017 presidential election. Kovind won.
Laloo Prasad Yadav stated over the phone that he was determined to win the election by a wide margin.
“I have been contesting Lok Sabha polls from Saran constituency for the last several terms. I had contested against former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi as well. This time, I am contesting against her daughter Rohini Acharya,” he stated.
Yadav was an agriculturist and social worker, and he was not deterred by his opponents calling him a ‘vote katwa’ (one who divides votes) a ‘dharti pakad,’ or one who clings to the land.
According to the affidavit submitted by the RJP candidate, Yadav holds Rs 5 lakh in cash, while his spouse has Rs 2 lakh. His wife’s movable assets are valued at Rs 5.20 lakh, whereas his assets are worth Rs 17.60 lakh. Despite the variance in wealth compared to his opponents, Yadav remains confident in his ability to secure the support of Saran voters.