Former MP Shahabuddin's wife Hena and son Osama join RJD
Hena, who had contested the 2024 LS polls and lost, has joined the RJD along with her son Osama. The RJD leadership hopes to consolidate their vote bank with this development
Hena Shahab and Osama, the wife and son of the late MP Mohammad Shahabuddin respectively, joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The mother and son duo joined the RJD in the presence of RJD chief Lalu Yadav and Bihar's former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Hena Shahab had previously contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Siwan as an Independent candidate. This was her first election since 2009 when the RJD failed to give her a ticket after her late husband's death.
In the election, she beat the RJD candidate, former Bihar assembly speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, and garnered the second highest votes. She was however defeated by the Janata Dal (United) candidate Vijaylakshmi Devi by 92,000 votes. Political analysts said that Hena’s presence in the election led to the defeat of RJD candidate.
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Who was Mohammad Shahabuddin?
Shahabuddin, who held sway over Siwan parliamentary constituency, had been the MP there from 1996 to 2004.
During this time, he notched up 36 criminal charges against him, which including high-profile killings, such as the murder of JNUSU president and journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
However, he died from a COVID-19 infection, while he was serving a life sentence in Delhi’s Tihar jail for a double murder. Shahabuddin had surrendered before the police on the Supreme Court 's directive, after he was found hobnobbing with criminals after being released on bail.
Chanda Babu, a Siwan-based businessman, had challenged the bail granted to Shahabuddin by the Patna High Court in the Supreme Court. He had feared a threat to his life since his two sons were killed with acid. And, a third son, who was physically disabled, was also later shot by armed criminals in Siwan.
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RJD's core vote bank
Now, his son Osama has entered politics and joined the RJD. This seems to have revived the longstanding ties Shahabuddin’s family shared with Lalu Yadav and his family.
With this new development, the RJD leadership also hopes to keep its "core" vote bank intact in preparation for the state assembly election slated for next year.