RJD wins bypoll in 2 out of 3 seats, setback for JD- U, BJP
■ Tejashwi likely to play bigger role in state politics now
The byelection results in Bihar has come as a major setback for the ruling NDA. The RJD, which is the main Opposition party in the state, has won two of the three seats. Byelections were held for Araria Lok Sabha seat and two assembly segments — Jehanabad and Bhabhua.
RJD candidate Sarfaraz Alam has won the Araria Lok Sabha seat after defeating BJP candidate Pradip Kumar Singh by the margin of
63,000 votes. The byelection for the Araria Lok Sabha seat was necessitated by the death of RJD MP Mohammad Taslimuddin.
The contest was mainly between RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam, Taslimuddin’s son and BJP candidate Pradip Kumar Singh, who had won the seat in 2009 but lost to Taslimuddin in 2014 general elections by 2 lakh votes.
The RJD also retained its Jehanabad Assembly seat that fell vacant after the demise of Mundrika Singh Yadav. The party gave the ticket to his son Krishna Mohan alias Suday Yadav, who defeated JD- U candidate Abhiram Singh by 35,036 votes. Abhiram Singh had won the seat in 2010 when his party was in alliance with the BJP.
The RJD’s victory from the Jehanabad by a strong margin also indicates that a large number of upper caste voters have moved away from the NDA.
Jitan Ram Manjhi factor also seems to have worked in gaining a substantial amount of Mahadalits and EBC votes in favour of the RJD. Mr Manjhi had moved out of the NDA and joined the Grand Secular Alliance after he was denied a ticket from Jehanabad. However, the BJP managed to retain its Bhabhua Assembly seat where its candidate Rinky Pandey won by 14,866 votes after defeating Congress candidate Shambhu Patel. The seat fell vacant after her husband Anand Pandey’s demise. She secured 64,413 votes against 49,647 of the Congress.
The byelections in the state were seen as the first test for chief minister Nitish Kumar, who had pulled out of the RJDCongress Grand Secular Alliance in July last year to form a government with the BJP.
“Nitish Kumar had backstabbed public mandate by leaving the grand alliance. This byelection was the reply to him from people. The results also show that my father Lalu Yadav has not his popularity among the masses,” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said after the results.
This byelection was also seen as a test for Tejashwi Yadav, who has been trying to keep the party intact. Political analysts are of the view that the victory has opened the gate for him to play a vital role in the state politics.