Bihar bye-elections: RJD seeks removal of returning officer at Kusheshwar Asthan

In a letter sent to Chief Election Commissioner, the RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said Sanjeev Kumar Kapar, the returning officer at Kusheshwar Asthan, had allegedly intimidated voters during the 2020 assembly elections in Bihar

Just before the counting for bye-elections at Bihar’s Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly seats began on Tuesday, the main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) called upon the Election Commission to remove the returning officer (RO) at Kushweshwar Asthan, arguing that his conduct was under the scanner because he had allegedly intimidated voters during the 2020 assembly polls.

Security personnel patrol a Maoist-affected area ahead of the by-elections in Tarapur on October 28, 2021. (PTI/File)

In a letter sent to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra at 12.37am on Tuesday, the RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said Sanjeev Kumar Kapar, the returning officer at Kusheshwar Asthan, who is a sub-divisional officer at Biraul, had allegedly intimidated people to vote for the ruling party during the 2020 assembly elections in Bihar.

Jha also attached audio and video files with the letter to argue his case and support the charges he made against Kapar.

The letter was also circulated among members of the press.

“We write this to you to convey our strongest reservation that the said officer’s presence as returning officer for the counting process shall seriously undermine the idea of free and fair elections, and hence the officer concerned should be divested of the responsibilities as returning officer for this important exercise,” Jha said in his letter to the CEC.

Counting for the two bye-election seats started at 8am on Tuesday, with postal ballots being counted first, followed by EVMs votes.

The by-polls are important for both the ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) and the Opposition RJD. Chief minister Nitish Kumar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers, leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav – all of them had taken part in rallies ahead of the elections.

Allegations of partisan behaviour of poll officials and misuse of state machinery have been flying thick and fast from both the ruling JD(U) and the RJD.

On election day last Saturday, the JD(U) reacted sharply after it emerged from an audio circulating on social media that a block development officer was purportedly talking to a close aide of the party’s nominee from Kusheshwar Asthan in an intimidating manner.

Earlier, the RJD complained about alleged partisan behaviour of a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) posted at Biraul in Darbhanga on poll duty. The officer was eventually removed from election duty ahead of the bye-elections.

The results of the bye-polls will be significant for both the JD(U) and the RJD.

A win for the JD(U) will give the ruling party a much needed opportunity to take on rival RJD in the backdrop of CM Nitish Kumar’s development model and “susshashan ( good governance)” campaign.

A victory for the RJD will not only increase the party’s tally of MLAs from 75, it will also give Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav the scope to step up pressure on the ruling JD(U), among other advantages.