AMN / PATNA
The victory of JDU at both the seats in the bypolls result of which was declared today has come as shock for both the Congress and the RJD. Despite big challenge from the BJP-JDU, both the parties jumped to the foray.
The JDU held both Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur seats.
Lalu Prasad, who held an election rally after six years, gave a tough fight to the JDU testing Nitish Kumar’s political strength. But the JDU won the Kusheshwar Asthan seat by a comfortable margin of over 12,600 votes. At Tarapur, the JDU candidate managed to win the bypoll by a margin of a little over 3,000 votes ahead of the RJD.
The BJP’s ally Janata Dal-United of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar survived a major challenge by Lalu Prasad-inspired Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the bypolls on two seats. The JDU held both Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur seats.
JD(U)’s Aman Bhushan Hajari has won the Kusheshwar Asthan seat by 12695 votes defeating RJD’s Ganesh Bharti. While Hajari got 59887 votes, RJD’s Bharti polled 47192 votes. Janata Dal (United)’s Rajeev Kumar Singh won from the Tarapur defeating RJD’s Arun Kumar. While Rajeev received 72384 votes, Arun Kumar got 71619 votes and the LJP’s Kumar Chandan stood third with 5119 votes. The Congress candidate Rajesh Kumar Mishra got 3385 votes.
The bypolls had witnessed a moderate voter turnout with Kusheshwar Asthan recording 49 per cent voting while Tarapur recording 50 per cent turnout. While 17 candidates are in the fray, eight are from Tarapur and nine from Kusheshwar Asthan. Both the seats were earlier held by the ruling JD(U). While the ruling party is aiming to retain the seats, the opposition RJD want to convey the message of alleged misrule by winning the seats. The Congress has also fielded its candidate from both the seats after the RJD did not take it into confidence over candidate announcement. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (RV) is also in the fray. It’s the first electoral challenge for the LJP (RV) since the party suffered internal revolt and was split into two.
In Tarapur, which fell vacant upon Mewa Lal Chaudhary’s demise, JD(U)’s candidate is Rajiv Kumar Singh while from Kusheshwar Asthan, debutant Awadh Bhushan Hazari is contesting on the party ticket. Awadh’s father Shashi Bhushan Hazari had won three times in a row from this seat. In Tarapur, the RJD has fielded Arun Sah while in Kusheshwar Asthan, the RJD has fielded Ganesh Bharti. For Chirag, the by-polls in both seats would be a test of his strength after the split in the party. While Tarapur falls within Chirag’s own Jamui Lok Sabha constituency, Kusheshwar Asthan is a part of Samastipur which his cousin Prince Raj represents.
MADHYA PRADESH
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress held two of the three assembly seats that went to the bypolls. The BJP held one, and also the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat. Here, the BJP snatched one seat from the Congress and retained the Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP’s victory on the Jobat Assembly seat is significant. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the BJP had won this 70 per cent-tribal population seat only twice in 70 years.
KARNATAKA
In Karnataka, the ruling BJP has retained its tally but lost the assembly seat of Hangal that it had held earlier.
Hangal’s loss to the Congress is actually a loss of face for Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Hangal is in Haveri, the home district of Bommai. The BJP won Sindgi, earlier held by the Janata Dal-Secular.
RAJASTHAN
The BJP suffered another blow in Rajasthan, where the ruling Congress snatched Dhariawad while retaining the Vallabnagar seat.