In a resounding debut victory for the son of Bihar’s notorious strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Osama Shahab has clinched the Raghunathpur assembly seat on November 14, 2025, defeating Janata Dal (United) rival Vikash Kumar Singh by 9,157 votes. Shahab secured 83,095 votes against Singh’s 73,938, with Jan Suraaj Party’s Rahul Kirti a distant third at around 15,000 votes, per Election Commission of India (ECI) final tallies.
Raghunathpur, a general seat in Siwan district with 61.45% voter turnout on November 6 (Phase 1), remains an RJD bastion despite the NDA’s statewide tsunami of 208 seats. This win preserves Mahagathbandhan’s slim foothold (28-33 total), bucking losses for leaders like Tejashwi Yadav in Raghopur.
Shahab’s Steady Surge: From Close Contest to Comfortable Win
Counting kicked off at 8 a.m., with postal ballots favoring JD(U). Shahab flipped the lead in early EVM rounds, holding a razor-thin 45-vote edge initially before pulling ahead: 3,478 votes after round 4, 9,236 by midday, and 11,621 after round 22. Jubilation erupted at RJD camps in Siwan, with supporters chanting “Shahabuddin zindabad” and distributing sweets, viewing it as a legacy revival.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osama Shahab | RJD | 83,095 | Winner (+9,157) |
| Vikash Kumar Singh | JD(U) | 73,938 | Runner-up |
| Rahul Kirti | Jan Suraaj | ~15,000 | Third |
Final ECI tally; total valid votes: ~1.72 lakh. Check results.eci.gov.in for details.
Legacy of a ‘Bahubali’: Shahabuddin’s Shadow Looms Large
Osama, 31, the youngest of Shahabuddin’s three sons, entered politics handing over the RJD lantern symbol by Lalu Prasad Yadav himself. His father, a feared RJD MP jailed for crimes including double murder, dominated Siwan from 1996-2009. Raghunathpur has been RJD turf since 1990, with Harishankar Yadav winning in 2015 (10,622-vote margin) and 2020.
Singh, a wealthy JD(U) candidate (assets ₹8.4 crore, income ₹2.9 crore), banked on NDA’s “sushasan” wave but couldn’t breach the family’s hold in this Yadav-Muslim belt. A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) added voters post-2003, but critics like Akhilesh Yadav alleged manipulation favoring NDA elsewhere.
Tejashwi Yadav hailed it as “people’s mandate against fear,” while NDA’s Amit Shah downplayed it amid their landslide. This lone RJD bright spot in Siwan (NDA swept others like Darauli) signals minority consolidation for Mahagathbandhan, but statewide, Nitish Kumar’s fifth term is sealed.
