Bihar Election 2025: Shahabuddin's Son Osama Leads in Raghunathpur as NDA Dominates Assembly Polls

Osama Shahab, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate and son of former Siwan MP and notorious strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin, is currently leading in the Raghunathpur constituency as vote counting continues in the Bihar Assembly elections. According to Election Commission data, Shahab has established a significant lead of 12,493 votes.

The Janata Dal (United) candidate Vikash Kumar Singh currently trails behind Shahab in the race.

This marks the first Bihar Assembly election since the passing of Mohammad Shahabuddin, the controversial gangster-turned-politician who had been convicted in multiple cases, including a double murder. Shahabuddin died in 2021 due to COVID-19 complications. Despite having served four terms as a Member of Parliament, Shahabuddin was eventually disqualified from electoral politics following his criminal convictions. Nevertheless, his name remained strongly linked to the Siwan region.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shahabuddin's widow Heena contested as an Independent candidate from Siwan after the RJD denied her a party ticket. However, she was unsuccessful in her bid, losing to JD(U) candidate Vijaylakshmi Devi.

Following the election, both Heena and her son Osama subsequently joined the RJD party ranks.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, has strongly criticized the RJD for granting Osama Shahab a ticket, claiming the party is "encouraging criminalization" in politics. The NDA has also accused the RJD of attempting to reintroduce "jungle raj" in Bihar - a term referring to the period when the state was governed by RJD chief Lalu Yadav, former Chief Minister and father of Grand Alliance Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav. The BJP has consistently used this narrative to criticize the opposition.

According to early trends, the NDA is showing strength by leading in over 190 seats, comfortably above the majority threshold of 122 seats. The BJP is ahead in 84 constituencies, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) leads in 74 seats. Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is leading in 23 seats, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha in four, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha also in four.

Today's Bihar Assembly election results will determine whether Nitish Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, will secure his position for a fifth consecutive term.