NEW DELHI: As vote-counting begins today, the spotlight is on the Mahua Assembly constituency in Vaishali district, where Lalu Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav has returned to the fray in a high-stakes battle. The seat, where he made his political debut in 2015, is now being contested by RJD’s Mukesh Kumar Raushan and Sanjay Singh of the LJP (Ram Vilas), among others. Tej Pratap, expelled earlier this year from the RJD and now contesting on his own banner, is attempting to reclaim Mahua. Raushan, the incumbent, is fighting to retain the seat amid threats of a split in the Yadav vote.
| Candidates | Party | Votes polled | Vote percentage |
| Tej Pratap Yadav | JJP | ||
| Mukesh Kumar Raushan | RJD | ||
| Sanjay Singh | LJP(RV) | ||
| Margin of difference |
In the 2020 assembly election, Mukesh Kumar Raushan of the RJD won with 62,747 votes (36.48 per cent), defeating JDU’s Ashma Parveen, who polled 48,977 votes (28.47 per cent). LJP’s Sanjay Kumar Singh secured 25,198 votes (14.65 per cent). In 2015, Tej Pratap had won the Mahua seat, securing approximately 66,927 votes (43.34 per cent) and defeating his nearest rival by a margin of 28,155 votes. This year’s contest will test whether Tej Pratap’s return can disrupt the existing equation in Mahua, where the combination of caste, development issues and intra-party rivalries all surface. Counting of votes commences at 8:00am.
