It's a star war in Patna Saheb, with BJP's Shatrughan Sinha and Congress nominee Shekhar Suman being touted as lead actors but others with favourable caste equations may steal the show too.
These two apart, 14 candidates, including RJD's Vijay Kumar Sahu and Ram Narayan Rai of the CPI-ML (Liberation) are in the race from Patna Saheb, the polling to which will be held on May 7.
Both Sinha and Suman hail from Patna and belong to the Kayastha community, which accounts for over four lakh from the 16 lakh voters in the constituency.
Besides Kayastha, both Yadavas and Vaishyas account for 3.5 lakh votes each, followed by Dalits, Muslims, Rajputs, Bhumihars and Kurmis.
Since both the top contenders are Kayasthas, a division of votes along the community lines is likely. Hence, the one who can manage equations with other castes prudently will be the winner, political analysts say.Nevertheless, development, too, plays a key role among the educated class here. And, not surprisingly, contenders are attacking each other, citing development work.
Suman targets Sinha saying he had done 'precious little' for Patna though he had been Rajya Sabha MP for two terms and was also a union health minister.