Bypolls at Mokama, Gopalganj will be 2nd face-off between BJP, RJD-JD(U) combine

The first was in 2015 assembly polls, when RJD and JD(U) had forged a Grand Alliance along with Congress and swept the elections, winning 178 out of the total 243 seats in the state, leaving BJP with only 53.

The bypolls on Mokama and Gopalganj assembly seats, which go to vote on November 3, will be the second time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pitted against an alliance of two other major parties in Bihar — Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United.

In August this year, JD(U) snapped ties with BJP and realigned with RJD, Congress and other parties to form a new government of Mahagathbandhan. (HT Photo)

The first was in 2015 assembly polls, when RJD and JD(U) had forged a Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) along with Congress and swept the elections, winning 178 out of the total 243 seats in the state, leaving BJP with only 53.

In August this year, JD(U) snapped ties with BJP and realigned with RJD, Congress and other parties to form a new government of Mahagathbandhan.

“Though bypolls cannot be equated with general elections, it will surely give a hint of what the electors think about their realignment,” said political analyst Nawal Kishore Chaudhary.

In Mokama, RJD has fielded its former MLA and strong man Anant Singh’s wife Neelam Devi against BJP’s Sonam Devi, wife of Lalan Singh, another strong man of the area and of the same clan. “It will be interesting to see how BJP fares in the constituency it has never fought before. However, the party seems determined to give RJD a run for its money, as is apparent from the way it has fielded wife of another strong man,” says Abhay Pandey, a local trader.

Mokama has been the stronghold of Anant Singh since 2005. He won the seat twice on JD(U) ticket. In 2020, he fought on RJD symbol and retained the seat, defeating JD(U)’s Rajiv Lochan Narayan Singh by a margin of over 35,000 votes.

The bypoll for Mokama seat has been necessitated after Anant Singh was disqualified from the membership of the assembly following his conviction in a criminal case.

BJP is better placed at Gopalganj, even though it happens to be the home district of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. BJP has fielded Kusum Devi, wife of sitting MLA Subhash Singh, whose death has necessitated the bypoll. Singh, who was a minister, has been winning the seat for BJP since 2005.

Party leaders said that like in 2020 assembly polls, the seat may witness a triangular contest with convincing edge in favour of Kusum Devi, who will be pitted against the RJD’s Mohan Gupta and Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Indira Yadav, wife of Anirudh Yadav alias Sadhu Yadav, who is also brother in-law of Lalu Prasad.

In the last assembly elections, Subhash Singh had won the seat by defeating Sadhu Yadav by 36,000 votes. Congress’s Asif Gafoor had stood third, polling 36,000 votes.

RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari exuded confidence that his party will win both the seats, saying the candidates have been named after considering all social and caste equations. “Moreover, all partners of MGB will help the RJD nominees,” he said.

IT cell and data collection in-charge of the BJP, Dilip Mishra, said CM Nitish Kumar’s capitulation before deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was not going to make people change their mind. “Popular sentiments are with the BJP after JD(U) joined the corrupt combine against the mandate,” said Mishra.