Bihar bye-polls: Initial round of counting shows mixed results for RJD, JD(U)

At 10am, the RJD led by 670 votes at Kushweshwar Asthan, while in Tarapur, the JD(U) held a slender lead over its rival RJD, as per reports. Counting for the two seats began at 8am

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) took an early lead at Kushweshwar Asthan and the ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) was ahead at Tarapur after the initial round of counting on Tuesday morning in bye-elections for the two seats in Bihar, according to reports.

A security personnel stands vigil at a polling station as voters stand in a queue to cast their votes during the bye-election of the Tarapur assembly constituency, in Munger district, on Saturday. (PTI)

At 10am, the RJD led by 670 votes over the JD(U), the Congress and other parties at Kushweshwar Asthan, while in Tarapur, the JD(U) held a slender lead over its rival RJD, as per reports. Counting for the two seats began at 8am.

The ruling JD(U) fielded Aman Bhushan Hazaari from Kushweshar Asthan and Rajiv Kumar Singh from Tarapur, while the RJD fielded Ganesh Bharti from Kushweshwar Asthan and Arun Kumar from Tarapur.

The Congress, too, is fighting both the seats in the bye-elections that were necessitated following the deaths of two sitting MLAs - Mewalal Choudhary from Tarapur and Shashi Bhushan Hazari from Kushweshwar Asthan. Both belonged to the ruling JD(U) party.

The RJD’s early lead at Kushweshwar Asthan, a constituency in Darbhanga that was won by the ruling JD(U) in the 2020 assembly polls, is seen as a big boost to the main Opposition party that has called upon the Election Commission to divest the responsibilities of the returning officer of the constituency, Sanjeev Kumar Kapar, alleging the officer of resorting to partiality in the last assembly polls.

“We are going to win both the seats. In Kushweshwar Asthan, we are in the lead position, while in Tarapur , we will get a victory,” said an RJD spokesperson.

JD(U) spokesperson Manish Mandal hopes the party will eventually win both the seats. “It’s just the initial rounds. We are confident of winning both the seats,” he said.