The narrow lanes of the Muslim colony in Gopalpur in Siwan’s Raghunathpur constituency are thrumming with excitement. As Osama Shahab’s SUV comes to a halt, a sea of young men surge forward, their phones raised high. The candidate barely waves before being surrounded. Sitting beside him is Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) sitting MLA Harishankar Yadav, who tells the crowd: “Vote for this young man and help form the government of another young man.”

Osama, the son of the late Mohammad Shahabuddin, says little. His father’s name, though, says everything.

Raghunathpur is the gamble, a seat chosen not for Osama’s charisma but for the memory he carries. The constituency’s mix of Yadavs, Muslims, Dalits, Rajputs, and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) fits the Opposition party’s arithmetic. In 2020

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