RJD WRESTS JOKIHAT SEAT FROM JD(U) IN BIHAR BYPOLL

The RJD on Thursday wrested the Jokihat assembly seat in Bihar from the JD(U) in the bypoll by a margin of 41,000 votes.

RJD candidate Shahnawaz Alam defeated Murshid Alam of the JD(U), Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Baiju Nath Kumar said.

Following the win, a buoyed Tejashwi Yadav attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying if he has conscience he should immediately tender his resignation.

The Jokihat seat in Muslims-dominated Araria district was held by the JD(U) during the 2015 state elections. The bypoll was necessitated due to the resignation of sitting MLA Sarfaraz Alam, the elder brother of the RJD candidate, in March.

Sarfaraz Alam went on to win the bypoll to the Araria Lok Sabha seat on RJD ticket.

Their father Taslimuddin, whose death had necessitated the Araria bypoll, had represented Jokihat for a record five times, reports PTI.

The bypoll defeat has come as a jolt to Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which had registered three consecutive wins at Jokihat before Thursday's loss.

Kumar is yet to make any comment on the bypoll result.

However, JD(U) General Secretary K C Tyagi saw the Jokihat defeat as an outcome of people's nationwide reaction over recent fuel prices hike.

The defeated JD(U) candidate Alam said the recent tieup of the JD (U) with the BJP may also have angered many of the party's traditional voters. He also accused the RJD of "indulging in large-scale mischievous campaign on communal lines against the BJP-led NDA".

Meanwhile, leader of the opposition in Bihar assembly Tejashwi Yadav claimed that Kumar has been "reduced to the status of a captain who cannot even find a place in the playing eleven".

"If the chief minister has conscience, he should immediately go to the Raj Bhavan and tender his resignation," the former deputy chief minister told a press conference convened immediately after counting of votes ended.