BJP Banks On Fresh Face: Siyaram Singh Replaces Four-Time MLA In Barh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Dr Siyaram Singh from the Barh Assembly constituency in Patna district, replacing four-time MLA Gyanendra Kumar Singh Gyanu, whose ticket was dropped. Just months ago, Gyanu had claimed that only “God could defeat him in Barh”; he now finds himself sidelined.

Dr Singh holds an MBBS and an MD in General Medicine, and practises in Barh. He has served as Secretary of the Bharat Vikas Parishad and at Patna Medical College, and was a board member of HUDCO. He joined the BJP in 2013 and became district president in 2016.

In December 2023, he was appointed state in-charge of the BJP’s IT and website department in Bihar. Dr Singh is one of two MBBS candidates fielded by the BJP. Ahead of the election, he said that if he did not win by at least 50,000 votes, he would return his certificate. In an interview with Jhakas Bharat, he also said there is consensus within the NDA that Nitish Kumar will continue as Chief Minister.

Barh has long been a BJP and “Rajput stronghold”, locally dubbed “mini Chittorgarh”. By replacing Gyanu, the party appears to be making a strategic move, presenting a fresh face in a key seat.

Barh was created as an Assembly constituency in 1951, it has held 17 elections with varied results. Once a Congress stronghold, it has gradually shifted towards the BJP. Congress last won here in 1985, giving it six wins in total. The JD(U) has secured four victories (including one under the Samata Party banner), while the Janata Dal and BJP have two each. The Jan Kranti Dal, the Janata Party, and an Independent have each won once.

Sitting MLA Gyanendra Kumar Singh has claimed four successive terms—2005 and 2010 with the JD(U), then 2015 and 2020 with the BJP. He left the JD(U) in 2014 after it broke with the BJP to ally with the RJD, a move that helped the BJP tighten its grip on Barh.