In the lead-up to the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, cracks are appearing in the Opposition’s Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) due to seat-sharing disputes. Now independent MP Pappu Yadav, who identifies himself as a Congress leader, has slammed the Rashtriya Janata Dal for fielding a ‘Bahubali’ from one of the seats against a Congress candidate. Irony is, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav himself is a Bahubali Neta (strongman leader).
On 16th October, Congress announced its list of 48 candidates for the elections, which included Aditya Kumar Raja from Lalganj seat. But on 17th October, RJD fielded Shivani Shukla from the same seat. Lalganj is one of the several seats where both Congress and RJD are contesting, despite being part of the alliance.
28-years-old Shivani Shukla is the daughter of Bahubali leader Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla, who is currently in jail. Munna Shukla has a long history of criminal involvement, facing over 24 charges, including murder. Shukla won his first election in 2000 as an independent candidate from Lalganj Hajipur jail. He won again in 2005 on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket and then on a JDU ticket in the same year.
He was barred from contesting elections after he was convicted in the Brij Behari Prasad murder case. Although he was acquitted in 2014, he Shukla was again convicted in 2024 in the case by the Supreme Court, and is currently serving life sentence. Although Munna Shukla is a convicted criminal, his daughter Shivani Shukla is educated in London and has no known criminal history.
But ironically, Bahubali Pappu Yadav is calling her a Bahubali, and criticised the RJD for nominating her against Congress candidate Aditya Kumar Raja in the Lalganj constituency. Pappu Yadav described Lalganj as an “extremely backward” seat, and said that ‘his party’ has fielded a Dalit from the seat to promote representation for marginalized groups.
Patna, Bihar: On RJD, Purnea MP Pappu Yadav says, "There will be no compromise with Dalits and extremely backward communities… Without Congress, no Chief Minister or Prime Minister can be formed… On Lalganj, we gave the ticket to an extremely backward caste, while you are… pic.twitter.com/X2dYz2hnSq
— IANS (@ians_india) October 19, 2025
Pappu Yadav, a vocal supporter of the Congress within the alliance, accused the RJD of disrespecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the party’s Dalit state president, and marginalized communities by pitting “Bahubali” candidates against Dalit nominees. “There will be no compromise with Dalits and extremely backward communities… On Lalganj, we gave the ticket to an extremely backward caste, while you are giving tickets to Bahubali—why?”
He further said, “You are showing disrespect to our Dalit state president. This will not work. Without Congress, you cannot form the government. You insult Rahul Gandhi’s ideas and the state president, how do you expect Congress to remain dedicated to the alliance?” He further said that RJD can’t form govt without Congress, and therefore contesting against the alliance partner won’t work.
Yadav also urged Lalu Prasad Yadav to take back its candidates from seats given to Congress, saying that “The alliance dharma must be followed at any cost.” He added, “Rahul Gandhi has also appealed to all parties to work in the interest of the INDIA alliance. We have not fielded any candidate where the RJD has one. Therefore, RJD should also withdraw its candidates from the seats where we have ours. The people are ahead of us. They will vote for the INDIA alliance and Rahul Gandhi. In such a situation, internal clashes will only cause harm.”
