The region is characterised by fertile alluvial plains of the Kosi basin, lending itself to extensive paddy, maize, and jute farming. The local economy is primarily agrarian, supplemented by remittances from migrant workers. Seasonal migration remains a socio-economic feature due to uneven landholdings and limited non-farm employment. Infrastructure is gradually evolving, with improved rural roads and expanding mobile connectivity helping bridge access gaps.
Jokihat is situated about 25 km southeast of Araria town, the district headquarters. Forbesganj lies to the northwest and Purnia is approximately 60 km to the southwest. The nearest railhead is at Araria Court, with road connections to NH-57. Patna, the state capital, is located approximately 350 km southwest of Jokihat.
Established in 1967, Jokihat has witnessed 16 electoral contests, including two bye-elections held in 1996 and 2008. A striking feature of its electoral history is that it has consistently elected Muslim MLAs, a reflection of its demographic composition – Muslims account for about 65.70 percent of the electorate.
The constituency’s politics has long been shaped by the influence of veteran leader Mohammad Taslimuddin and his family. Between Taslimuddin and his sons, the family has held sway in 11 out of the 16 elections. Taslimuddin himself won five times, starting with the Congress in 1969, an Independent run in 1972, the Janata Party in 1977 and again in 1985, and finally the Samajwadi Party in 1995. He later served as Minister of State in the Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh governments at the centre.
Following Taslimuddin’s move to national politics in 1996, his son Sarfaraz Alam took the baton, winning the 1996 by-election as a Janata Dal nominee and again in 2000 on an RJD ticket. Although he faced defeats in 2005, Sarfaraz returned with wins in 2010 and 2015 as a JD(U) candidate, before being suspended and switching back to RJD.
In 2020, Jokihat witnessed a dramatic shift as Sarfaraz contested again under the RJD banner, only to lose to his younger brother Shahnawaz Alam, who was then with AIMIM. Shahnawaz won by 7,383 votes and subsequently joined the RJD. This has triggered an internal tussle, with the possibility that whichever sibling is denied the ticket may contest on a rival party symbol, making the 2025 elections potentially fractious.
Party-wise, JD(U) has won four times; Congress, Janata Party, RJD, and Independents twice each; while Praja Socialist Party, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, and AIMIM have won once each.
Jokihat had 293,347 registered voters during the 2020 Assembly elections. Muslims numbered approximately 192,728 (65.70 percent), while the Scheduled Caste population stood at around 22,001 (7.5 percent). By the 2024 general elections, the electorate had grown to 305,595, although 3,521 voters were found to have migrated by the time of the polls.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, BJP’s Pradeep Kumar Singh won the Araria parliamentary seat, but in Jokihat Assembly segment, he trailed RJD’s nominee and sitting MLA Shahnawaz Alam by a substantial margin of 64,968 votes. This continues a familiar pattern. The BJP, which has never won Jokihat, consistently fields Hindu candidates whenever it has contested this seat in hopes of capitalising on fragmented Muslim votes. However, the divisions have never tipped the scale in its favour.
For the RJD, Taslimuddin’s legacy remains formidable. Yet with AIMIM asserting itself and the JD(U) expected to nominate a formidable Muslim candidate, the upcoming contest promises intrigue. Between family rivalry, party dynamics, and demographic pull, Jokihat remains one of Bihar’s most riveting electoral theatres.
(Ajay Jha)
