Bihar bypolls LIVE updates: Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (left) and Nitish Kumar. The bypolls will be the first major test for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since walking out of the Grand Alliance last year. (File Photo)
Bypolls to Araria Lok Sabha seat and Jehanabad and Bhabhua Assembly seats in Bihar will be the first major test for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since walking out of the Grand Alliance last year. The key challenge for NDA will be to wrest Araria Lok Sabha seat from RJD, whose candidate Mohammed Taslimuddin defeated BJP’s sitting MP Pradeep Kumar Singh in 2014. Araria had been with NDA since 1996. The contest is mainly between the late RJD MP’s son Sarfaraz Alam and BJP’s Pradip Singh.
The Assembly seat of Jehanabad, which was vacated due to the death of RJD lawmaker Mundrika Singh Yadav, will see his son Uday Yadav locking horns with JD(U)’s Abhiram Sharma. Jehanabad is dominated by OBC Yadavs but is closely followed by upper caste Bhumihars.
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Bhabhua seat, won by BJP in 2015, presents an interesting battle with Congress fielding a Kurmi candidate, Shambu Nath Patel, in an effort to split Nitish Kumar’s constituency. The saffron party has fielded the widow of Anand Bhushan Pandey, Rinki Rani Pandey, from this seat.
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Meanwhile, bypolls are also underway in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. A constituency won by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on five successive occasions, the saffron party not only has to win Gorakhpur but also retain, if not increase, Adityanath’s 2014 victory margin of nearly 3.13 lakh votes. Adityanath has already cast his vote in Gorakhpur. Follow Uttar Pradesh bypolls LIVE updates here
At a rally on Friday, Nityanand Rai had said, "If Sarfaraz (RJD candidate) wins this election, Araria will become a safe haven for the ISI. The victory of our candidate Pradip Singh will, on the other hand, give rise to patriotic fervour". Rai had also attacked the Lalu Prasad-headed RJD for its "failure to speak up against those indulging in cow slaughter". The comments had drawn sharp flak from the RJD.
Meanwhile, controversy has erupted after Bihar BJP state President Nityanand Rai said if Sarfaraz Alam (RJD candidate from Araria) won the bypoll, then Araria would become hub of ISI. ANI reported that a complaint has been lodged against Rai for violating the model code of conduct for his statement.
Welcome to our live blog on Bihar bypolls. Today, bye-elections to Araria Lok Sabha seat and Jehanabad and Bhabhua Assembly seats are being held. The voting to Araria Lok Sabha seat has begun. The seat was vacated following death of RJD candidate Mohammed Taslimuddin. The contest is mainly between the late RJD MP’s son Sarfaraz Alam and BJP’s Pradip Singh.