Patna: With all major political parties announcing their candidates for the upcoming byelections to four assembly seats in Bihar, it appears to be heading for a triangular contest among the NDA, Grand Alliance and the nascent Jan Suraaj (JS), which came into being on October 2.
However, the last-minute decision by the JS — backed by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, popularly known as PK — to change two of its candidates in the fray for Tarari and Belaganj assembly seats within days of announcement of their names has added a new twist to the poll battle, with the message not resonating well with the voters.

The JS replaced its candidate Lieutenant General (retd) Sri Krishna Singh in Tarari with Kiran Singh since his name was missing from the electoral roll, besides changing its Belaganj candidate Khilafat Hussain.
“Prashant has entered the poll arena with limping legs. So far, he acted as a poll expert, but the real test has only just begun,” said a political observer on Wednesday.
Although the bypolls are being held on only four assembly seats — Ramgarh, Tarari, Belaganj and Imamganj — they are being described as a “semi-final” to next year’s assembly elections. All eyes, however, are on JS, which is making a poll debut after its convener PK’s two-year long padyatra. “We have provided an alternative to the masses and are hopeful of getting their support,” the party’s spokesperson Vivek Kumar said.
Stating that his fight was against the existing system, Kumar added although it is the masses who will decide who wins the race, “we are giving a formidable challenge to the frontline parties.”
But the BJP claimed JS is nowhere in the scene as the main contest is between the NDA and Grand Alliance. “Just imagine it (Jan Suraaj) had to change two of the total four candidates in the midst of the poll process,” said BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma, adding, “Jan Suraaj got admission in nursery class but is sitting in an exam for higher classes.”
The RJD, on the other hand, claimed that the people are angry with the NDA and want change.
The bypoll to the four seats were necessitated after the respective MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.
In Ramgarh, the RJD fielded Ajit Kumar Singh, the younger son of state party president Jagadanand Singh. This seat was earlier represented by his elder brother Sudhakar Singh, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Buxar.
In Imamganj, HAM(S) patron and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi fielded his daughter-in-law Deepa Santosh Manjhi. He represented the seat before being elected to the Lok Sabha from Gaya. Likewise, the prestige of Jehanabad MP Surendra Prasad Yadav is at stake in Belaganj, where his son is making a poll debut, while in Tarari, former don-turned-MLA Sunil Pandey’s son Vishal Prashant is trying his luck in the election.